Magic of Tennis
by Arigatomina
Summary: HP crossover, Seigaku and their top rivals are invited to Hogwarts to take part in a tournament. The wizards have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. Shonen ai.
1. Plight of the Owls

**_Author's Notes:_** I did some searching and only found one fanfic that matched Prince of Tennis with Harry Potter. It was a het fic filled with original female characters. That's not quite what I was looking for. If there are any non-romance fics featuring the guys (or even yaoi crossovers), please let me know. I'd love to read some.

**_Age Discrepancy:_** For this fic, the prince of tennis boys are as old as they look. Just assume they're in a three-year high school and the groups are 1st yr Freshmen: 14-16, 2nd yr Juniors: 16-17, and 3rd year Seniors: 17-18. I simply won't refer to characters like Kabaji, Sanada, and Akutsu as thirteen and fourteen year-olds, when they're clearly in their early twenties. Even making them sixteen and seventeen is pushing it.

**_Character List: _**I have a simple webpage up with a list of the PoT characters featured in this fic, a picture of each, and pictures of the main pairings. If you have trouble putting a face to a name, this should help. The url is below - copy and paste, and remove spaces.

www . geocities . com / pot9365 / index . html

_Harry Potter:_ Harry and company are in their third year, but it doesn't follow the canon timeline at all. Most of the story will be from the PoT characters' point of view, with a little House rivalry as applicable.

_Summary:_ Seigaku and a number of their rivals are invited to Hogwarts to take part in a tournament. The wizards have no idea what they're getting themselves into.

_Warnings: _language, reference to owl mutilation, possible humor  
_Pairings:_ not much yet  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part 1: Plight of the Owls_

The first mistake was sending the invitations to the players, rather than the captains or, even more appropriate, the coaches of the individual teams. Dumbledore was so accustomed to writing directly to potential students that he never considered the proper protocol followed by Japanese high school tennis players. He would have been startled to learn that Japanese parents disliked strange men writing to their children, especially strange men who wrote about a fantastical school of magic and left the decision of whether or not to attend entirely up to their innocently curious children. British muggles, it seemed, were naturally inclined to accept such invitations as honest and trustworthy entreaties. At any rate, they were much more likely to send their children off alone into the hands of a man they'd never met, to be schooled at a place they'd never heard of, and to be taught a form of magic everyone knew didn't exist. Muggles in Japan were a little more jaded than that, and their children were similarly distrustful of bizarre letters delivered by night birds.

As a result, when Fuji Syusuke found a plump gray owl sitting on the windowsill of his room with a letter in its beak, his first impulse was to frown in dismay and wonder if the stalker had decided to start things up again. He hadn't received one of those bold letters since he was twelve, and he'd been rather relieved to know he no longer had to watch his head for fear postal owls would swoop at him every time he stepped out of his home. And even when the creatures had returned three years later, to stalk his younger brother this time, they'd given up after a few months and a few perfectly aimed tennis balls to the head.

Looking through the window at the pale bird, with its feathers ruffed and its wings half lifted in preparation for a quick escape, Fuji was certain it was the same bird he'd done his best to mutilate two years ago. If it had any intention of chasing Yuuta again, he'd kill it.

Fuji, a senior on the Seigaku tennis team, wasn't really a violent person, as his silky honey-brown hair, willowy figure, and ethereal smile would attest. On the contrary, he was quite fond of animals, especially soft pretty ones. But nothing pecked his brother and flew away unscathed. Not even obedient avian mail-carriers were exempt from that rule.

As he stared, his cobalt blue eyes having come open from the calm smile he usually kept them in, the owl shifted tentatively forward, the white envelope brushing against the glass so his boldly printed name – in romanji, as if being stalked by birds wasn't strange enough – was clearly legible. Fuji's eyes narrowed a centimeter, his mouth curving into a slight frown. The owl shivered visibly in reaction to his annoyance.

Yes, it was most definitely the same offender. He recognized the panicked gleam in its eyes, the same terrified yet hopeful look it had worn when Yuuta had pulled him away before he could finish the interloper off. Foolish, naïve owl, daring to show its face around him again.

His lips curved into a slow smile that was almost terrifying when combined with his glinting eyes. He silkily slid forward like some feline preparing to pounce. And he calmly lifted the window. The owl, which had begun to tremble violently the second he eased into motion, bolted with a panicked hoot. The letter drifted into the bedroom along with a number of feathers. Fuji almost sighed in disappointment.

He tossed the letter into the wastebasket beside his desk and picked up his cell phone so he could warn Yuuta that the owls were back.

.-.

There was an informal rule at Hogwarts that an unread letter was an undelivered letter. Thus, on the rare occasion a potential student didn't open his invitation, the school sent as many as necessary to ensure that the invitation was properly received. There were sometimes obstacles, after all, like unusual parents who guarded their children from large letter-carrying birds, and even more unusual children who guarded their best friends from the same oversized birds. In cases like these, flocks were sometimes dispatched to make continuous deliveries so that, eventually, one would make it to the candidate and be properly read. The owls reserved for these special circumstances were a little bolder than their contemporaries. They didn't know the meaning of _'give up while you still have all your feathers.' _Like overly eager fangirls, they didn't take no for an answer.

Kamio Akira, a junior on Fudomine's tennis team, found that sort of persistence annoying as hell, and secretly challenging. While he couldn't exactly beat up fangirls, he had no problem discouraging insane birds from chasing his best friend around town. Thus, when his practice match was interrupted three minutes in by a large bird swooping down on the other side of the court and dropping a letter on Shinji's head, his reaction was immediate and fast. He redirected the ball he'd been about to serve and struck the owl in the middle of its back. The bird dropped like a stone and bounced on impact, a choked 'rark' sound escaping its beak.

"That's nine in the last hour!" yelled Kamio. His furious tone was belied by the wide grin on his face, and the brilliant glow in his dark blue eyes. "Even Arina doesn't chase you this much, and she's rabid!"

For all his slender, compact stature, and fine short red hair that fell coyly over one eye, Kamio was known for his very short temper, and his willingness to start a fight with anyone who riled him. He was also known, by those who actually knew him, to enjoy a challenge. Keeping off Shinji's newest stalkers was nothing if not a challenge, considering there seemed to be no end to them.

"Eighty-three," Shinji muttered, staring glumly down at the letter that had fallen at his feet. "There were eight-three last time, before my uncle found out and made me read one. And then he just yelled at me for a week, as if it was my fault that English woman was propositioning me. I didn't even know anyone with that name, and it's not like I went outside all that much, so I couldn't have said the wrong thing to some perverted woman. And I was twelve back then. What kind of woman stalks a twelve-year old, anyway? It was probably some really scary woman like that Jyousai Shounan woman. I hear she really has a thing for Echizen, which is just wrong since he's only a kid and she's old and not pretty at all. Though...I guess some people would think she looks good since her clothes are so tight and she shows off her chest a lot. But still, I don't want owls chasing me, and they haven't done it for years, so why are they doing it again now? I'd rather have those girls from school following me around. At least with them Oji-san won't yell as much, since he keeps trying to get me to date more. Not that I want to date them, I just don't want owls following me. It's embarrassing…"

Ibu Shinji, a sixteen year-old _tensai_ according to his tennis team, had a tendency to ramble aloud when something bothered him. And judging by the way he hung his head so his shoulder-length bluish black hair fell into his violet eyes, his shoulders hunched a little, and his racket held limply at his side, he was quite bothered by the owls that had been following him since school let out an hour earlier. Even seeing how much Kamio enjoyed picking them off one at a time didn't raise his spirits. He simply didn't like to be stalked, whether it was weird birds, or rabid girls.

"Oi," Kamio called, as he pulled another tennis ball from his pocket and took up his stance behind the baseline. "It's still moving. Want me to finish it off?"

Sure enough, the persistent and dedicated brown barn owl was shuffling unsteadily to its feet, intent on getting the letter and pushing it into the candidate's face until the boy opened it. Hopefully it could avoid meeting the same fate as the last few who'd tried. Unlike Dumbledore, the owls knew when to be wary. They gossiped regularly in Hogwarts' owlry, so they knew Japan was the worst possible place to deliver letters, second only to southern America, where a dedicated owl had to watch out for dirty shotgun-carrying men who would happily pluck and eat them if given the chance.

"Maybe I should just open it," Shinji sighed, lifting his eyes to look bleakly across the net at Kamio. "If they plan to keep trying till I read it, I'll just get in trouble again once they start pecking on the doors and windows. And whoever that weird stalking English woman is, she had a lot of owls last time. You'd get really tired trying to hit them all."

Kamio sighed in disappointment and slipped the ball back in his pocket. He rounded the net, detouring just long enough to tip the bird back onto its side with the toe of his shoe, since it was still quite off balance. Then he stopped by Shinji and retrieved the letter.

He opened it himself, since he was rather curious about the strange woman Shinji said had stalked him a few years ago. From what he'd been told, she claimed to be representing some guy and his 'magical' school. Naturally, Shinji had immediately recognized the strange attempt to get him away from home, probably to be abducted for some heinous reason or another, and had turned the letter over to his uncle. Kamio hadn't known Shinji when they were twelve, but he imagined the boy had been quite cute back then. It wasn't too strange to find out some woman out there had tried to spirit him away. Her method was the only weird thing about the attempt.

Kamio was just pulling the paper from the envelope when a rush of feathers hit his ear. He whirled around, his free hand rising to shield his face, and an owl swooped past. A second letter slid off the top of his head to land at his feet.

"Oh?" Shinji blinked in surprise, a small smile making it to his face. "That one's addressed to you. I knew there was no reason for a psycho to stalk me when I hang around you all the time. This is more reasonable."

"Reasonable?" Kamio blurted, staring askance at the letter that, sure enough, had his name written on the front of it. "I don't want owls chasing me around!"

"This is fair," Shinji was saying to himself, most of his sullen resignation having been replaced with quiet amusement at Kamio's befuddled expression. "It's only right that Kamio be stalked too, since we're both here, and he's much more open than I am, talking to all sorts of strange people. But now that he's being stalked too, he'll be chased by the owls, too, and I shouldn't be happy about that happening to my friend, only...it's not fair if I'm the only person being chased. Of course, now that I'm reading mine, the owls will probably leave me alone and just chase Kamio, in which case I can fend them off for him like he did for me, and that's fair, too. Yes, this is only fair..."

"Don't give me that _share the pain _crap," griped Kamio, his scowling gaze still locked on the letter at his feet. "Just the fact that some strange owl woman knows my name is creepy as hell!"

Shinji had reached out to take his letter from Kamio, but he paused at that, his eyes blinking rapidly. "It _is_ creepy...I didn't think about it that way. I only thought about how annoying it was to have a letter addressed to me in the bath, right down to which bathroom I was in. But it is. It's creepy."

"I'm glad we agree," said Kamio, a little exasperated. "Now let's see what your creepy stalker has to say so badly. Then, we can turn the letters in to someone who can find her and put her behind bars where she can't go stalking twelve year-old boys anymore. That's so sick...she's been watching you for four _years_, Shinji...!"

That valiant brown barn owl was waddling in their direction. Kamio shivered when he spotted it and eased a little behind Shinji, shoving the boy's letter into his hand.

"Come on," Kamio whispered, suddenly unnerved by the owl's determined eyes. "We can read them while we walk..."

.-.

There were multiple reasons for an owl to be late in returning after delivering a letter, so an absence or two usually went unnoticed. In the unfortunate, and thankfully unusual, case that a number of owls consistently failed to return, reinforcements were called for. In this case, screech owls were sent to make sure no predators were eating the delivery birds. In the event that a screech owl failed to return, drastic measures were taken. After all, no simple predator would dare to attack a hawk, especially a magically enlarged hawk with dangerous talons and a very sharp beak. Wizards hadn't taken into account how violent some muggles could be, particularly psychotic former Yamabuki tennis players with very large sticks up their nether-regions.

Akutsu Jin, an eighteen year-old with wild gray hair and piercing honey-colored eyes, was not the least bit annoyed to see the first owl waiting on the stoop of his house. As he'd done six years ago, he accepted the letter with a seemingly unthreatening smile. Then he'd caught the bird and taken it out back to...talk with...yeah. He'd made the mistake of reading the second letter, back when the weirdos had written to invite him to some gathering for perverts who had no skill at making up realistic stories. Now he made it a point not to read the letter, so the owls would continue to come. Needless to say, none of them left after dropping their burdens.

The hawk, a bird the size of a large dog with an eight-foot wing-span, took one look at the mutilation spread out over the yard and wheeled right back around, its letter falling down and getting caught on the wire fence. It avoided Hogwarts for the next four months, unwilling to be sent back to that deranged muggle's home.

Akutsu would have waited a few more hours to see how many heads...er...letters...he could collect, but a certain busybody slip of a boy interrupted him. A sharp cry of horror rent his ears, and he slammed his hands over them, wheeling to glare bloody murder at the boy screaming from the gate. If it had been anyone else, the moron might well have joined the owls in their...resting spots.

"Shut the hell up! Who do you think you're screaming at?" Akutsu demanded, his voice a little rough and very annoyed.

"Akutsu-san! Akutsu-san! What happened? Come away before the dog gets you, desu!"

Dan Taichi, a fourteen year-old first year player at Yamabuki, and former manager of the team, was staring urgently from the other side of the gate. His dark reddish-brown eyes were so wide they filled his face, and his messy black hair fell over the green band he habitually wore over his forehead, a cast-off of none other than Akutsu himself. For all his innocent appearance, Dan was either the bravest person at his school, or the stupidest. No one else dared to speak to Akutsu, let alone order him around.

"Who are you ordering around?" Akutsu growled, stalking over to scowl down at the undaunted boy. "And what dog?"

"It must have been a dog, desu!" Dan cried urgently. "Come away! Or has it gone already?"

Akutsu eased back on his heels, his evil glare shifting into an equally evil smirk. "Yeah, it's gone. For now..."

"Thank goodness," Dan sighed, almost sagging against the gate. "You weren't hurt, were you, Akutsu-san?"

Torturing annoying owls was rather enjoyable, but Akutsu had found himself, for some inexplicable reason, unable to beat a puppy to a pulp without provocation. He'd discovered that crack in his homicidal armor back when he'd been…friends…with Kawamura. Stepping on puppies until they oozed out from under his shoe was simply beneath someone of his skills. So as much as he would have liked to smash the kid, and preserve his reputation as an impartial homicidal maniac, he resigned himself to scowling in sheer annoyance.

"Why are you here?" he growled. "Get lost. Go practice so you're not such a horrible player."

"I'm sorry!" Dan cried quickly, half bowing and nearly banging his head into the bars of the gate. "I was practicing, desu! But…there was this owl and it gave me a letter, and I had some trouble reading it, but I think someone wants me to-"

He'd reached into his jacket pocket to pull out the letter in question. Akutsu's hand shot through the gate and ripped it away.

"Give me that," Akutsu snapped, his teeth gnashing. "I'll _kill_ them…"

The kid was annoying, clingy, and way too brave for his own good. But he was also gullible and naïve and impossibly, disgustingly, cute. The very idea of Taichi getting one of those letters, _Taichi_, who'd go running off obediently without ever considering the stranger waiting for him…it was too sick to even think about.

It wasn't until Akutsu unfolded Dan's letter and glanced at the text that he stopped imagining the way he would greet the next bird that flew into his yard. The style of the text, and the parchment, were all the same as the letter he'd received six years ago. But the message was slightly different.

"What the hell…?"

.-.

Proper, dedicated, and hard-working owls usually found themselves rewarded for delivering letters without incident. They were sent to roost in the owlry and left free for a few days of lounging and hunting and gossiping. But there were times when even a properly delivered – meaning read upon receipt – letter didn't equal reward. It was times like this that made some owls retire from the delivery service altogether. They were missed by their peers back at the owlry, but some thought they were happier for it. What the ones left behind never knew was that the rewards they received – being allowed to rest and hunt and gossip – were things all wild owls got on a daily basis. The ones who retired simply didn't bother to go back and let them in on the secret.

The soft snowy gray owl who delivered the letters to Hyoutei's regular courts was just such a deserter. She'd obediently flown to Japan, her feet aching over the stack of letters and her wings straining from the weight. And she'd made certain they were delivered to the proper people. Now, she was content to lounge on the shoulder of a tall brown human who comfortably resembled a tree. Having him pet her with surprisingly gentle fingers made up for the balls that had almost hit her the first time she'd swooped down over the court. After the horror stories she'd heard in the owlry, she decided not to go back. If she did, she'd just be assigned another Japanese delivery, and she wasn't going to push her luck of surviving the next one.

"It's got to be some kind of joke," said one of the teens standing around the tree-like human, the owl, and the letters. "I bet Seigaku thought it up, they're so lame."

Mukahi Gakuto, a short effeminate third-year member of Hyoutei's regular team, was standing with his hands on his narrow hips, head tilted to the side so his short, jaunty dark red hair angled away from his pale cheek. His eyes, always bright and sharp, were simmering with resentment at the idea of their rivals playing such a pathetic joke. Surely they were worth clever jokes, at least semi-reasonable ones. Even _Seigaku_ could do better than this.

"If it was them," another player countered, "they would have sent one to Hiyashi, too. Echizen played him, after all."

Shishido Ryou was scowling at his letter, his backwards cap holding down jagged, recently cropped mahogany hair. He wrinkled his nose and sent a look over at his doubles partner. "Even Choutarou got one, and he's a second year."

Sure enough, Ohtori Choutarou was standing beside him with a letter in his hand. If he was pleased to be singled out along with his upperclassmen, he didn't show it. Tall, with fluffy gray hair and gentle eyes, he was simply watching the owl, more curious than anything. And that made some sense, considering the owl was currently being pet by one of the most unemotional members of the team, and the only other second-year to receive a letter.

Kabaji Munehiro was a giant, towering a few feet over his teammates and possessing a bland, horse-like face with soft brown eyes and dark brown hair cut into a short flattop. For all his apparent strength, he looked oddly at ease petting the large bird that had taken roost on his shoulder. He didn't so much as glance down at the proceedings.

"I don't think it's a joke," a calm voice announced, the others turning to look at him. "This is the second time I've received one of these, and I have it on good authority that the establishment is genuine. I have cousins who've graduated from Hogwarts, though I turned my invitation down in favor of playing tennis here."

This information should have shocked them, but considering who it came from, they looked more skeptical than anything. Oshitari Yuushi, another third-year regular, had a tendency to be somewhat eccentric, as his round and clear – and entirely unnecessary – glasses proclaimed. He was medium height with thick black hair that lent itself to dark blue and fell in layers to his shoulders, bringing out the color of his blue-violet eyes. His expression was currently in what some considered his playful look – the corner of his mouth raised just a hair, and his eyes gleaming with secret knowledge. It was a rather typical look for the team's tensai to be wearing.

Gakuto rolled his eyes and took the opening as an invitation to tease. "So you gave up going to a school of 'witchcraft and wizardry' because you'd rather play tennis? Right."

"Quite right," Oshitari nodded, his smile widening a bit at having his doubles partner understand him so well. "It was a simple decision to make."

"Wait," Shishido scowled. "You're not honestly trying to say these letters are real, are you? That's-"

A pale, perfectly formed hand rose in the air, fingers curled and poised to snap if necessary. They all fell silent, as did the other members of Hyoutei's huge tennis club, even the ones who were so far away on the other side of the court that they couldn't possibly hear the sound of the fingers snapping. Their illustrious and maniacally egocentric captain was about to speak.

"I have made my decision," came the drawled and almost sultry announcement. "We will go."

Atobe Keigo, the third-year captain and ruler of the Hyoutei tennis legion – for it was far too large to be called a tennis team – was a force to be reckoned with. Not only was he the perfect height and build, but he had flawless pale skin, an amazingly concentric beauty mark beneath one eye, and perfectly coifed hair, black with a hint of silver highlights that gleamed where the tips curled upward to either side of his face. His decision that the team would respond to the invitation held in those letters was met with an immediate agreement from behind him.

"Usu," said Kabaji.

Shishido rounded with wide eyes. "We're going?"

"Yes, we are," smiled Atobe. "Did you really think Oshitari could have been invited somewhere and ore-sama not be? I received an invitation as well, as did my father before me. While it would be beneath us to attend such a lowly school, I see no reason not to give them a bit of entertainment. It will be a chance to crush our opponents properly. You can be certain Tezuka will attend."

The others shared looks of regret and resignation, and began to wonder what they would tell their parents about this, or their teachers, for that matter. Atobe turned to look at Kabaji and wrinkled his delicate nose.

"Kabaji. Get rid of that thing before it stains your uniform."

"Usu!"

Only luck and good reflexes spared the poor owl from being decapitated by an overly powerful hand. She flitted up and off, and took back every nice thing she'd thought about the tree-human. She also decided that maybe freedom wasn't such a good thing after all. Little did she know that the moment she returned to Hogwarts she'd be given another letter to deliver, to a well-known, if unofficial, potions protégée…

.-.

While most owls were obedient, eager-to-please servants, there were some with a bit of an attitude problem. These were the ones who would sniff at the idea of eating a dead mouse that was no longer warm, or drinking from a water dish with feather-fluff floating on the surface. They could do their jobs better than any lowly, subservient owl, and since they knew this, they had no problem making sure their peers knew it as well. Needless to say, they were above most tasks, and rarely enjoyed delivering simple letters. What they enjoyed was making certain those weak obedient owls knew how inferior they were in comparison. So when one of them was ordered to deliver a letter, instead of the peons they were forced to roost with, these owls became more than a little resentful. This led to a bad match in some cases, as few muggles enjoy being pecked by resentful, haughtily superior owls, no matter how wonderful the birds knew themselves to be.

Koujiro Saeki, the third-year vice captain of the Rokkaku tennis team, was not a violent person by nature. He fancied himself easy-going outside of a match, and he was more comfortable with a teasing, knowing smile, than with a scowl. But having an owl roost in his white hair, pulling the upper strands away so the black beneath was clearly visible, put him in a somewhat nasty mood. The fact that the unruly bird had given his cheek a paper cut with the edge of the envelope it had flung at him didn't help matters.

Saeki stopped on the sidewalk, still a block from the friend he'd been planning to visit, and wondered how to dislodge the creature without punching it off the top of his head. He wasn't a violent person, after all, so punching would be a last resort. Tossing his head might make the bird claw into his scalp as well as his hair, so that wasn't viable. And the weight of the fat owl on his neck was unpleasant – he didn't want to give himself whiplash.

Something warm and wet and oh-so-disgustingly foul slid down the back of his neck. The owl gave a contemptuous hoot and raked his hair, wings fluttering in superior smugness. The friendly and rather cute Saeki snapped.

By the time a passerby thought to pull him away, only feathers and indistinguishable lumps remained. Saeki had the grace to flush a little at the eyebrow the samaritan raised at him. It would have been better if he didn't know the teen.

Sengoku Kiyosumi, a third-year member of the Yamabuki tennis team, considered himself a rather lucky person. It was quite rare that he found himself pulling a rival player off what appeared to be the mangled remains of a very large bird. Despite the carnage, which did twist his gentle disposition a tad, he decided it was a lucky meeting. After all, Saeki had a letter just like the one he'd been given.

Tall and newly muscular after months of boxing as an addition to his tennis regimen, Sengoku was eyecatching. His hair was windswept and short, but bright orange, which went rather well with his turquoise eyes and easy smile. He reached down to pull the splattered Saeki to his feet and handed the teen his letter, which had fallen to the sidewalk in the one-sided scuffle between boy and owl.

"Lucky!" Sengoku grinned. "We both got letters. Were you on your way to tell Fuji-kun? I bet Seigaku-tachi got them, too. I was just wandering around, keeping my eye out for pretty girls – you know how it is – when an owl stopped by to give me my mail! Funny, that. I definitely wasn't expecting it. But you haven't opened yours yet, here, read it."

Now that Saeki was distracted from his uncharacteristic violence toward animals, he managed a faint smile. He didn't open the letter, but he did wipe his sleeve over the offensive…stuff…he'd been splattered with, on the back of his neck, and on his face during the plucking. Mutilating birds was messy work.

"I was planning to visit Fuji for a match," Saeki admitted, "but it wasn't about this letter. I just got it. More importantly, what are you doing scoping girls around here? I thought you gave up a month ago."

Sengoku grinned and put a finger over his mouth in a light shushing manner. "I was meeting someone, but that's a _hi-mi-tsu_! I have to run now. Hope to see you at Hogwarts, Saeki-kun!"

Saeki wondered for a moment if it was a member of Seigaku that Sengoku had been secretly meeting with. But he pushed the thought aside as he turned to look after the teen.

"Hogwarts…?"

.-.

Like any coin, there was an opposite to the ornery, overly confident owls. These were the well-mannered and painstakingly polite owls, who considered it a matter of pride to deliver a letter without becoming either an annoyance, or a luxury to be taken for granted. To them, it was a career, and a good worker always put forth his best effort. Not even the cocky owls could look down on these dedicated – but not stupidly obedient – workers. They held the top perches in the owlry for good reason. They were the best, and while they didn't rub their peers' beaks in the fact, they did nothing to hide it.

It was rather unfortunate when one of these neatly proper owls found himself delivering to an immature and badly behaved muggle. Instead of sitting patiently with the letter, the owl was forced to follow the silly creature. And honestly, it was sometimes difficult not to look down on young muggles who appeared to be uncommonly terrified of owls.

Kirihara Akaya, second year member of team Rikkaidai, was just such a muggle, though he didn't know what the word muggle meant and wouldn't have wanted it applied to himself if he had known. He was of medium height, with short curly black hair and very dark blue-green eyes that usually glinted with mischief, or turned red with bloodlust when he was playing a really difficult opponent.

He also had a recently acquired fear of birds, especially large birds, so being followed by a large bird carrying a letter was a very unpleasant experience. Even armed with a racket and ball, he didn't consider fighting back. No, not him. He wasn't about to give any large bird with a letter the chance to scratch his eyes out. He tossed his tennis bag over one shoulder and ran, all the time wishing he'd never started watching old horror films on late night television.

Most people in such a situation would have taken shelter in the nearest building, or possibly headed for home if it were close enough. Kirihara knew better. Birds could crash through windows, peck their way through doors, and no where, no where but behind metal or a man with a machine gun would be safe. Naturally, he headed for the safest place he knew of.

He threw himself at the door of a nearby apartment and pounded like his life depended on it, and he thought his life did depend on it, since that bird was closing in on him fast. The second the vice captain of his team opened the door, he lunged inside and slammed it behind him.

"Quick," gasped Kirihara, "board up this door. I'll find something to block the windows! Hurry! It's right behind me!"

Sanada Genichirou, eighteen-year old vice captain of Rikkaidai, was a very sober and deliberate person. He looked even older than he was, with his short black hair and almost aristocratic face, his dark eyes solemn at all times. He didn't stare in bewilderment or order the panicked teen out of his apartment. He simply stepped forward, took Kirihara's shoulders, and gave him a nice hard shake. The teen's teeth snapped audibly together, and a quiet laugh sounded from the couch.

"I believe your friend has a letter for you," called a voice that moved across the room to the window facing the street.

Kirihara reacted with confusion for a moment – Sanada could really shake hard – and then fear. Yukimura, his way-too-nice-for-his-own-good captain, was now leaning toward the window, that large letter-wielding bird staring in from outside.

"Get him away from there," Kirihara blurted at Sanada, almost shocked that he was letting Yukimura endanger himself.

They all had made it a point to watch out for their captain, since he really was too nice for his own good. Just looking at him leaning so close to that evil bird, which could ram through the window any second now… Kirihara shivered and didn't protest at being pressed down on the couch by an unconcerned, and slightly smirking, Sanada.

"We both received letters from owls," said Sanada. "We were just discussing it. There's nothing to panic over. That one looks especially well trained."

Yukimura Seiichi, who looked much younger than he actually was, had dark cerulean hair that fell in light waves past his chin, and same colored eyes. He was tall, but willowy from his recent stay in the hospital, and he was still a bit paler than usual. As the eighteen-year-old captain of Rikkaidai, his appearance usually made opponents underestimate him. Few knew how good he really was up until they actually met on the court.

He flashed a knowing smile at Sanada, who was standing in front of the couch to make sure Kirihara didn't dive over the back to hide from the incoming bird. Then he opened the window and stepped back. Sure enough, the moment the owl flew toward Kirihara, the black-haired boy let out a yipe and struggled to hide under the seat cushions. Sanada clamped a hand down on his shoulder and held him in place.

"You _have_ to stop watching those movies," said Sanada. "Your behavior is an embarrassment to the team."

"Yeah, yeah," Kirihara mumbled, not quite as carefree as he tried to sound. He was staring wide-eyed at the owl. The large bird was hovering right in front of him, that letter held out in one curved, sharp-clawed talon. He gulped and reached a shaking hand toward it. Only his trust in Sanada – who would tease him and reprimand him but never allow him to be blinded by a wild owl – kept him from squeaking in fear.

The moment the letter was delivered, the proper owl flew back to wait on the windowsill. It had to be certain the muggle read the letter, otherwise the delivery wouldn't count. Luckily for him, Yukimura immediately waved for the boy to do just that.

"Don't worry," smiled Yukimura, reassuringly, rather than mockingly. "As soon as you read it, he'll be on his way. And I do agree with Genichirou, you need to cut back on the horror movies. Imagine if someone saw you running down the street like that. You'd never be able to look them in the eye again."

"Like I care," Kirihara grumbled, a very faint flush hitting his face. He'd done some things in the past he wasn't proud of, and there were a lot of people who'd get a huge laugh out of his fear of birds. Hopefully none of them had seen him. But even if they had, he still wasn't going to give up his horror movies. He'd just avoid the ones with killer birds from now on.

The owl let out a properly polite hoot and took his leave, once more proud of his patience. Hopefully his next delivery would go more smoothly. Little did he know how few of his brethren had accomplished their deliveries with such ease, or how few would even be returning from their attempts.

.-.

Barring all the complications that could arise when a recipient didn't want to open his letter, there were other problems owls had to watch out for. One was the mail thief, who could be particularly dangerous if he were a wizard or a suspicious muggle. Owls were taught to defend their mail from such thieves, with violence if necessary. These were also cases where the screech owls found themselves employed. They took their work very seriously, even if the thieves were female and muggle, and weak. Normally, though, they had to fight off solitary thieves. It was rare for a group to go stealing mail from an owl.

Wakato Hiroshi, a third year member of the Jyousei Shounan tennis team, found himself witness to one of these rare cases when he handed his newest fanmail over to his fangirls to be sorted and answered as usual. They were very dedicated and loyal fangirls, so he saw no reason to answer fanmail himself, when they were so eager to do it for him. After all, if he answered his own fanmail he'd never have time to play tennis. That was the curse that came with having gorgeous dark orange hair that curved outward most adorably by his cheeks, framing his pixie-like face and making his eyes ever so blue. He was so used to being stalked and fawned over that he didn't so much as blink when an owl delivered a letter addressed to him. He simply tossed it over his shoulder to the giggling mass of girls who were his constant – except in the shower room, thank you so much – shadow.

Naturally he was surprised by the way the owl reacted to this, and since he couldn't very well endanger his pretty skin, he went to the clubhouse to find someone to handle it for him. His vice captain happened to be on hand, so he delegated the job to him.

"Some owl is out there attacking my fangirls," Wakato frowned. "I can see why girls might be jealous at having me give their letters to my fangroup, but really…attacking them with an owl? That shouldn't be allowed on school grounds."

His vice captain stared for a long minute before raising one pale eyebrow. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Reiji Shinjou was a very tall, lanky, yet compact eighteen year-old. He had ash-blue hair that was cropped very close to his head with razor buzzes on the sides, and piercing, almost vulcan eyes. He'd heard more than one whispered remark about his appearance from Wakato's overly enthusiastic fangirls. Why the teen thought he'd help _them_ out was beyond him.

"If an owl delivered a letter, you'd better open it," Shinjou shrugged carelessly. "They'll keep trying till you do. You should consider yourself lucky to have gotten one."

"What?" Wakato blurted, staring in disbelief. "Lucky that my fangirls are out there running around with some deranged bird pulling their hair? Do you know how hard I work to keep them around without dating any of them? That bird needs shot! Where would I be without my adoring fans…? I…I wouldn't be able to change over…!"

"Don't be so dramatic," said Shinjou, rolling his eyes. "What I meant is that not everyone received a letter. So far you and I are the only two. Hanamura-sensei is very displeased. I'd recommend you get that letter, read it, and then burn it before Kajimoto finds out you got one and he didn't. I've never heard him yell so much in one sitting…"

Rather than being worried about their captain's anger, Wakato's mood brightened abruptly. The idea of snubbing the captain, and being right up there with their coach's favorite, Shinjou, was almost enough to make up for how many fangirls he'd certainly lost due to this little incident. He slung his cap over his hair – carefully so it wouldn't mess the perfectly arranged locks – and swaggered out to find that psychotic owl. To think…he'd gotten something only Shinjou had received. Yep, he'd just bet Hanamura-sensei was upset. He'd always known he was one of the best on the team, even if she didn't seem to think so.

Wakato was pleasantly surprised to find his fangirls waiting for him when he exited the clubhouse. They were rumpled, bearing scratches and what looked like bird droppings…egh…but they were still together and still beaming at him with drippy adoration. He grinned back and raised a hand to acknowledge their dedication. A few of the girls swooned, the rest giggling madly. They happily gave the letter back to him, and he politely didn't mention the battered pile of feathers they'd forgotten to remove from the tennis court. It was okay for them to be a little messy when they were so clearly dedicated.

.-.

Really clever owls had a way of finding cracks in any armor, especially when the armor was a simple house. They would slip their envelopes under doors, down chimneys and even under beds if a wizard was bored enough to help them out with a bit of magic. Most of the time wizards didn't help, unless it was a very important candidate like a boy who lived, or someone who really needed to get the message like a werewolf in hiding. For simple deliveries, they stuck to large cracks such as doors and chimneys. They were quite good at this, though, so it was usually enough. They weren't prepared for the surprising lack of chimneys in Japanese boarding schools, or the fact that few buildings in Japan had wide cracks under their doors.

St. Rudolph high school was one of those surprisingly chimney free buildings, and sure enough, the cracks under the doors were blocked by rubber lining, almost as if the builders hadn't wanted drafts – or envelopes – slipping in. For this reason, the owls were forced to wait the candidates out. They circled the school, perched on window ledges and generally made a scene of hooting in annoyance at the pale faces staring out at them.

Hajime Mizuki was one of those faces. Slender and with slightly curled black hair and dark blue eyes, he was sometimes – by people who had a death wish – mistaken for Rikkaidai's Kirihara. Naturally he saw no resemblance whether in appearance or mannerisms. He was a strategist, not a demon. Manager and regular on St. Rudolph's tennis team, he considered it his duty to know everything that was going on with the members, particularly if that member was Fuji Yuuta. It was natural for him to be the one watching the windows and protecting said member from the supernatural flock haunting their school. He would have enjoyed the role more if Yuuta hadn't been on the phone instead of paying attention to him.

"There were three of them earlier," Yuuta was saying into his cell phone, his brows drawn as he spoke to his brother on the other end. "Now there's at least nine. They never sent more than one at a time before."

The only resemblance the younger Fuji – who would kill anyone who referred to him as Fuji's younger brother since his name was clearly _Yuuta_, first year member of the St. Rudolph team – had with his older brother was in the eyes. They both had bold metallic blue eyes that were just a little effeminate. Aside from that, Yuuta had cropped his honey-brown hair very short, making his face look longer. He was still medium height and slender like his brother, but that couldn't really be helped since they both had gotten it from their mother.

"Hey," Mizuki called, eager to get attention back on him, and to share his new discovery. "This one has a letter addressed to me! I want to read it…!"

"No!" Yuuta cried out, forgetting that he was still on the phone. He promptly winced at the recriminations coming from Fuji on the other end. "Sorry, aniki, I have to go now. I'm fine. I won't go outside, I promise. Yeah, I know. Akazawa-san said he'd get one and bring it in to me, so I won't actually go anywhere near the owls. Well…I don't really know how he's planning to get one of them. He took his racket with him…"

After a few more minutes of trying to reassure his overly protective brother that he wouldn't get pecked or scratched by one of the owls, Yuuta hung up. Immediately, Mizuki had an arm over his shoulders, being a little too friendly in his attempt to get the newest gossip on Fuji. While Yuuta wouldn't say anything against the manager of his team, since Mizuki was the one who'd gotten him out of Fuji's shadow back at Seigaku, he didn't really care for the guy's obsession with his brother. No matter how much Yuuta proved himself as a strong player, Mizuki didn't see him as a rival. And Mizuki always focused on his rivals first.

Yoshirou Akazawa, the third-year captain of the team, entered the room with three envelopes in hand, a few scratches on his tanned cheek, and a feather or two in his thick, dark red hair. He was tall and rather muscular, and his natural golden tan made him seem to diminish his paler, more effeminate-looking teammates. He would have been perfectly at ease on a swim team, or wrestling, both of which he'd dabbled with in his free time. The owls had been no match for him.

"Surprise," said Akazawa, his tone a pleased drawl that hid the fact that his temper was generally short and easily stoked. "One is mine, one for Mizuki, and then Yuuta-kun. You didn't mention they were for us as well as you."

Yuuta flushed a little, not liking how close he'd probably come to setting his captain off. While Mizuki had a way of making him feel useless, Akazawa usually reassured him with a few simple and direct comments. He didn't like abusing that, considering how readily the captain yelled at the rest of the team. It wasn't easy being the only freshman on the team – most of his teammates expected him be a tensai like his older brother, while the captain expected him to fail more often than not for lack of experience. He didn't know which was worse, having the others expect too much, or having Mizuki and Akazawa expect too little.

"Well?" Akazawa prodded, shoving the letter at Yuuta. "Are you going to read it? It wasn't easy getting them. Those owls were obviously trained by someone talented. If they hadn't been set on hugging the school, I'd never have caught them."

"But you did get them, didn't you," Mizuki smiled, drawing his words out. "I take it there's now a mess on the yard."

"Leave it," said Akazawa, with a wry smirk. "Kaneda kept trying to help, so I told him he could clean it up. Next time he won't be so quick to offer."

He shook his head and rubbed the back of his hand over a particularly itchy scratch on his cheek. "Training owls to deliver mail…what next…?"

.-.

Nightfall found the owlry rather quiet and shaken, visibly disturbed. The remaining owls were huddled on the lowest perches, quietly hooting horror stories to each other and commiserating with those who'd lost loved ones. The moment the doors opened and Dumbledore walked in, they rebelled. The poor wizard could only stare in wonder as every single owl – save the few who were hiding with their student owners where they wouldn't be forced to deliver letters – flew right out of the owlry, leaving only a few feathers to float down and catch in his long white hair and beard.

"Oh dear," Dumbledore sighed, plucking a feather from his beard and staring sadly at it. "I suppose I'll have to go myself. Who would have thought tennis players could be so cruel? It was such a simple request, really…"

.-.  
TBC

--notes--  
More people were chosen than just the ones shown in this part. I didn't want to go through everyone, but the entire Seigaku team was invited, along with a few others who didn't get spotlight here. I'm mostly picking my favorites out of the non-Seigaku teams. Note that it's mostly the tensai (genius players) who were invited as children to attend Hogwarts. The rest put themselves on the wizarding map through their tennis skills. Everyone who was invited _will_ be attending, whether they like it or not.

_Next up, all the chosen players meet for the trip to Hogwarts. Should be entertaining. ;p_


	2. Gathering the Boys

**_Author's Notes:_** I'm very unfamiliar with the non-Seigaku teams and characterizations, Fudomine being the only other team I've looked into. Due to a request, I went ahead and added the entire team from Rikkaidai, making them and Hyoutei the largest groups after Seigaku. Rokkaku got the least, because I don't really like most of their players enough to write them. Suggestions, corrections, and complaints about my characterizations are welcome. I don't know if the shonen ai will be anything more than playful, but I'm going to start marking the pairings just in case. Minor pairings will likely change with each part, consisting of flirting and crushes. Suggestions for minor pairings are welcome, but the main pairings are non-negotiable. I'll change the rating later on if any of the romance gets serious.

**_PoT Timeline:_** This story doesn't fit, but if it did it would be after the Goodwill Tournament and before Nationals in the anime, with Tezuka, Yukimura, and Tachibana are all healed up and ready to play. Since I haven't read the manga, all the character details and special moves will be based on the anime alone.

**_Character List: _**I have a simple webpage up with a list of the PoT characters, a picture of each, and pictures of the people each is paired with in this fic. If you've had trouble putting a face to a name, this should help. The url is below - copy and paste, and remove spaces.

www . geocities . com / pot9365 / index . html

**_Main Pairings:_** OishixEiji, KamioxShinji, OshitarixGakuto, SanadaxYukimura

_Minor Pairings (for this part): _Inui-Kaidoh, Echizen-Momo, Mizuki-Yuuta, Akazawa-Eiji, Fuji-Kawamura, Atobe-Tezuka, Jirou-Marui

_Fanart:_ You can find coverpics for some of the pairings on my deviantart page, which is linked on my ffnet profile. The pairings with pics so far are Tezuka-Fuji, Kamio-Shinji, Inui-Kaidoh, Mizuki-Yuuta, and Sanada-Yukimura (in the 'scraps' section).

_Music Videos:_ Fudomine fans are encouraged to check out my _"Fudomine"_ amv, which mostly features Kamio and Shinji, with minor focus on Tachibana, Ishida, and the rest of the team. A link to my amv page can be found on my ffnet profile.

**_Warnings:_** lots of dialogue, bad language (mainly Akutsu), possible humor  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part 2: Gathering the Boys_

There were many ways for a wizard to get what he wanted out of muggles, without resorting to illegal practices. Dumbledore was well versed in all of the methods, which was only natural considering his age and status in the wizarding world. With the Seigaku team, the ones he'd come to call the 'Gryffindor players' for their consistently brave and outgoing nature, a bit of weedling was necessary. He quickly learned that none of the students would willingly speak with him, except their captain, who coldly ordered him to stop harassing his players and to see their coach if he had business with the team. Being the adaptive, good-natured wizard that he was, Dumbledore took the treatment in stride.

Within the space of an hour he'd not only spoken with said coach – a middle-aged woman with graying red hair and a rather amusing way of bantering – but he'd gained her permission to borrow the team for what he promised would be a short month. In return, he would impart an enriching experience on her players. He never once stopped to wonder why she didn't question him about his magic school, or the existence of magic itself. As a wizard used to dealing with gullible children, he took it as a matter of course that she believed every word he said. Had he known that she'd been…tipped off…by one of her players, he might have hesitated a while longer.

The first to arrive at the deserted street tennis court designated to be their departure point, was the informer himself. Inui Sadaharu, third year Seigaku regular, was naturally early and in the perfect position to survey the arrival of his teammates and rivals. He was tall and lanky, with wild black hair cut close to his head and dark eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses specially coated to reflect light in the creepiest way possible. He took up position behind a tree in the middle of a convenient bit of foliage that looked out over the large double court. He held his trusty notebook in one hand, a pen in the other, and a somewhat drunken gray owl in a cage that was hanging off his shoulder by an improvised rope.

Known inside Seigaku as the busybody stalker who knew everything there was to know about everyone, Inui had quite a reputation. He had an even bigger reputation among the underground wizarding groups that mired themselves in experimental black-market potions. He'd politely refused invitations to no fewer then three wizarding schools, two of which were not sanctioned by the Ministry of Magic and were considered dark covens at best. While he had considered visiting a school – just for the well of available data to be collected within such a closed society – he was far more interested in experimenting on his own. Since he had no affiliation with wizards, whether by schooling or blood, they really had no control over him at all. That was the way he preferred it. He didn't think they'd have allowed him to experiment on his teammates if he were a registered wizarding student, and that was half the fun of making potions. Naturally, he'd been more than happy to inform their coach, Ryuzaki-sensei, of the reality behind the strange invitations all of the players had received.

A gurgling sound escaped from the swaying owl, and Inui glanced down, his glasses reflecting the streetlamps in a golden sweep. He hadn't planned to keep it, but the poor thing wasn't up to flying at the moment. She had delivered his letter just as he was about to taste-test his newest Inui juice – a thick bubbly brown liquid that had cooled into an unusual swirl of orange and blue. Since it was such an unprecedented interruption, he'd felt compelled to share his amazing mixture. The owl hadn't been able to stand up straight since. He'd just have to hand her over to her keepers once he and the others reached Hogwarts. For now, he leaned over and set her cage on the grass, and resumed his watch of the courts. In the margin of his notebook, he quickly figured the most likely order in which his teammates would arrive.

The silence was broken by a somewhat petulant whine. "No one's here yet! Why'd we have to get here so early, anyway? I just went to bed three hours ago…"

Kikumaru Eiji, a third-year regular with a penchant for being cute in everything he did, stepped around the building across the double courts. He was slender and lithe, of medium height, with rich red hair that somehow managed to naturally fall into little upward sweeps to either side of his head, strands framing his face and bringing out his cat-like dark blue eyes. He would have been too pretty if not for the little white bandage he constantly wore on his right cheek. His mouth was pulled into a pout as he stared over the tennis court.

Another much calmer voice answered the complaint. "We're leaving at three-thirty, and Tezuka wanted us to be here before the other schools. I'm sure there's a reason they wanted us to meet here before daylight."

Also a third year, Seigaku's vice captain, Oishi Shuichirou, was a bit taller than his doubles partner. He had his hair shaved so short that if not for the two thick strands of hair dipping into his eyes, he might have been wearing a black bathing cap. His eyes were warm and dark green, suiting his habitual role as 'mother' of the team. At the moment he was doing his best to placate Eiji by offering some sort of breakfast bar from the knapsack on his shoulder. They'd placed their bags beside the clubhouse and were standing on the edge of the court.

Inui nodded from his hiding spot in the bushes, his pen scritching over the notebook page. There had been a 68 percent chance that the 'golden pair' would be the first to arrive, and only a 4 percent chance that either Kikumaru or Oishi would come alone. He also noted that a strawberry breakfast bar had a 95.3 percent chance of calming a cranky Kikumaru in the morning, which was considerably higher than the results with any other fruit Oishi had tried in the past.

The owl pitched over and gurgled from below. Inui nodded in agreement, his teeth glinting in a wide grin. This was a good place to gather data from.

Eiji tossed his wrapper in a nearby trashbin and thanked Oishi for the snack, which he'd scarfed down as if he actually liked sweets in the morning. He'd never hurt Oishi's feelings by admitting he'd rather have skipped breakfast if he couldn't have eggs, and he did prefer the strawberry bars to those mango-raisin things his partner had tried to feed him the last time he'd been in too much of a hurry to eat breakfast. Those putrid things masquerading as sweets had been almost as horrid as a slopping dose of Inui juice.

Almost as if summoned by the thought, a devilish face glinted in the shadows across the court from him and Oishi. Eiji's eyes caught on the reflection of ghoulish glasses and a toothy evil scientist grin swimming out of the blackness. He promptly shrieked and jumped onto Oishi's back. His partner lurched forward and turned an interesting shade of pale blue as his oxygen was cut off.

"Urgh! Eiji...!"

"Kikumaru-senpai is energetic this morning," a cheeky voice commented from behind them.

Echizen Ryoma, the only first year to make regular player in recent Seigaku history, strolled onto the court. His thick black hair stuck mussily out from under his white tennis cap, dark greenish highlights sparking on the tips. He was quite short, so he tilted his head to the side to look up at the startled pair, wide golden eyes glinting above a sly smirk.

Inui, who considered his spying position thoroughly compromised, closed his notebook and picked up the rope of the cage. He left his bags in the bushes to be retrieved later, and crossed to where four of his teammates were now congregated. Eiji slowly climbed off Oishi, just as a tall figure followed in Echizen's wake. Inui stopped where he was and jotted a few quick notes.

There had been a 50 percent chance that Echizen would be the last to show, quite late, and a 50 percent chance that he would be one of the first. But the odds of him arriving with Momoshiro had been in the lower twenties – a figure that he now raised to a healthy 35 percent.

Momoshiro Takeshi, sixteen year-old Second Year and reserve player, was not a morning person. He walked with a hand over the lower half of his face to smother consecutive yawns, his unusual purple eyes blinking blearily. Tall and just muscular enough to look like a basketball player without being thick, Momo was sporting an early-morning bird's nest in his thick flattop of black hair, strands sticking out frizzily here and there. Bulky bags were hanging over his shoulder in one crowded pile that probably weighed a good fifty pounds. He'd been forced to carry Echizens's along with his own since the younger player had a relatively fragile cargo to take care of. Leave it to him to bring his cat with him.

"Oi, Echizen," Momo scowled, swinging the bags off his shoulder so they thumped audibly. "What's the deal with leaving me behind when I'm carrying your stuff? Next time you can carry the crap and I'll carry the cat. I should have known there was a reason you wanted me to meet you. That excuse about your dad not letting you walk in the dark was too lame."

Echizen gave a snarky smile and tugged down the bill of his cap to hide his eyes. "Mada mada dane."

A soft rowl interrupted the boy's pet phrase. Echizen jumped and hurried to reassure the large Himalayan in the little carrier by the building. That simple meow was enough to change him from _cocky little punk snarking off to his senpai _into _adorable fourteen year-old who loves his kitty cat_. Momo snickered and earned himself a dirty glare over Echizen's shoulder.

In the meantime, Eiji had inspected the damage his glomping had done to Oishi, thankfully none, and was currently lecturing Inui on why a good spy keeps his lips shut so his teeth don't look so scary in the dark. Since it was coming from Eiji, who had no experience keeping his mouth shut in class, let alone during a spying session, Inui didn't pay him much mind. He merely jotted down the new data on Kikumaru – having scared the acrobatic player, the best course of action was to admit his wrong and listen to the resulting lecture without complaint. Two minutes later the redhead was showing his snacks to Momoshiro and had completely forgotten the incident.

"Vinegar bacon bits!" Momo exclaimed, his face twisted in a grimace of pain. "What kind of chips are flavored like vinegar bacon bits?"

"These kind, _these_," Eiji grinned, waving said bag of vinegar-bacon-bit flavored chips in Echizen's equally squeamish face. "Want to try them, Ochibi? Nya! I bet you'd _really_ like them…!"

"Iya da," Echizen protested, leaning away and protecting Karupin's cage with his body. If his senpai even tried to bring those chips near his pretty cat, he'd bean him on the head with his tennis racket. He reached a hand over to his tennis bag and unzipped it, just in case.

Eiji laughed and pulled the offending bag of chips back to himself. "I saw them yesterday when Kaasan was shopping for groceries. I just had to get a bag for Fuji. If we're going all the way to England, we'll need snacks!"

A soft voice murmured from a few feet away, "Eto…I promised to pack lunches, so there wasn't a need to bring your own snacks… My dad helped with the sushi, so it should be okay…"

Kawamura Takashi, third year regular player with a documented split personality any time he held a tennis racket, was standing near the building with heavy bags hanging carefully at his sides. Tall and similar in build to Momo, Kawamura had short brownish-orange hair and an infinitely shy expression on his non-racket-holding face. At the moment he looked slightly hurt at the idea that Eiji distrusted his lunches so much he had to bring his own food.

"Unya…!" Eiji said quickly, jumping up and whapping his free hand on Kawamura's shoulder. "Your lunches are great! Really! And they're _free_, ne?"

"Of course," said Kawamura, with a shy smile. He was promptly given a semi-glomp, Eiji being careful not to disturb the bags since he didn't know which one was carrying the free food.

Oishi, who'd been warily interrogating Inui as to the presence of the doped-up owl, came over to Kawamura and thanked him properly for supplying their lunches for the trip.

"Did you see the others on your way here?" asked Oishi. "I thought Tezuka and Fuji were going to help you carry the extra bags."

"They helped me here, but Fuji had to pick up his brother," Kawamura said apologetically, as if it were his fault.

Their captain appeared from around the building, carrying his own bags over one shoulder, and a wide one in his left hand. "Fuji's sister drove us, so it shouldn't take long. They're going to bring the other players from St. Rudolph with them."

Tezuka Kunimitsu, eighteen-year old captain of Seigaku, was as much a morning person as Eiji and Momo were not. His face was calm and cleanly sober, his eyes sharp and direct behind thin glasses, and his layered golden-brown hair was naturally windswept-looking without actually being out of place. Tall and lithe, he was often mistaken for the coach of the team, rather than a student captain.

"Kaidoh should have been here by now," Tezuka frowned, having looked over the assembled players and immediately noticed the absence.

Inui, who'd wisely left his now-drooling owl near the bags where Tezuka wouldn't see it and ask questions, stepped over to join his captain and vice captain. The others were once more looking through Eiji's bag of snacks and debating which would be best given to Fuji, who was known to actually enjoy exotically foul concoctions.

"There is a 75 percent chance Kaidoh is lurking on the other side of the clubhouse to avoid being spotted by Echizen's cat," said Inui. He pushed his hand up, straightening his glasses so they glinted. "There is also a 22 percent chance that he's run afoul one of the other schools, in which case we can expect him directly."

Tezuka turned his head, steely eyes flicking over to stare pointedly at the building and the shadows showing from the corner closest to the surrounding greenery. He stared for three minutes of fierce silence. Then he turned away and crouched to help Kawamura and Oishi redistribute the lunches so no one would have to carry them all. If Kaidoh had been lurking, he'd have come forward the moment he noticed his captain's expression. He was the most respectful of the underclassmen, not that it was difficult when his competition were Momo and Echizen.

They'd repacked the meals and gathered their luggage in one general pile by the time the next person arrived. Alone and looking conspicuously uncomfortable, the teen stopped at the edge of the court, a good five feet from them. His visible anxiety increased when he looked them over.

"Hi," he said to Kawamura, the only Seigaku player he'd actually spoken with in the past. "You didn't happen to see an orange cat around here, did you?"

Ishida Tetsu, a second year player on the Fudomine tennis team, was rather tall and muscular for his age, with broad shoulders, wide dark green eyes, and a white scarf over his clean shaven head. Although he was dressed in street clothes like the Seigaku players, he held one of his team's black jackets in his hands, pale orange hairs standing out against the dark cloth.

Kawamura glanced back at the carefully arranged pile of luggage and the two cages set off to the side. Karupin met his gaze with a bored rowl, and Echizen shook his head.

"Karupin doesn't like other cats," Echizen frowned. "I'd know if there was another one around here."

Tezuka, who'd been assured by Ryuzaki that pet cats were more than welcome where they were going, stepped forward to greet Ishida with a sharp nod. He was almost relieved to know one of the other teams was bringing a pet.

"Would you like us to help you look for it while we wait for the others to arrive?" asked Tezuka.

Rather than look grateful for the offer, Ishida actually winced a little. He sent a wary look over the assembled Seigaku team and shook his head. "That's okay. Tachibana-san would kill me if one of you got bitten. It's not a nice cat…"

And that was a major understatement. Ishida had fidgeted a little so his forearms were visible. Small pinkish scratches showed everywhere from his knuckles to where his elbows disappeared into his shirt sleeves. Suddenly his wary expression, and the way he kept glancing around him, made sense. He wasn't worried about not finding the cat so much as he was worried about the cat finding _him_.

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched. The last thing they needed was for one of his teammates to be jumped by a rabid cat. That thought reminded him of Inui's speculation, and he stiffened suddenly. He turned his head slowly to look at the data player. Inui met his gaze with a smug nod and evilly glinting glasses. Missing Kaidoh plus missing cat equaled trouble.

The sound of running footsteps reached them a few seconds before a figure rounded the building and skidded to a stop by Ishida. "Found him!"

Kamio grinned up at Ishida, whose shoulders promptly slumped with relief. Then he caught sight of the Seigaku players grouped a few feet away. His sights immediately narrowed on Momoshiro and his demeanor changed from amused to very _un_amused. He stalked over to stand in front of the taller boy, his hands on his hips.

"_You_," Kamio muttered, glaring up at Momo with intense dislike. "From now on, you stay away from Shinji. All you do is cause trouble."

Echizen quirked an eyebrow, and Momo blinked in wide-eyed surprise.

"What did _I_ do?" Momo blurted, leaning a little away from the irate redhead. "I haven't seen either of you guys for at least a week."

"Don't try to get out of it," Kamio growled. "I know you gave that thing to him. Shinji told me how pushy you were. You never stopped to wonder why he'd hesitate, oh, no, you just jumped right in and stuck him with a psychotic pet he's not even allowed to have. He should have made _you_ keep the thing."

Momo stopped shaking his head long enough to scowl. "What _thing_ are you talking about? I don't even know what-"

Kamio cut him off with a vicious wave of his hand, turning to point behind him. "_That_ thing! That psychotic _cat_!"

A number of heads turned to center on the quiet figure who'd approached while they were otherwise distracted. The first thing they saw was the large furry orange cat, which didn't look psychotic so much as playful. Then they took note of the person it was clinging to. Inui gave a smug smirk and jotted a few lines in his notebook.

Kaidoh Kaoru, second year Seigaku player commonly known as Mamushi for his snake-like habits, was standing at the edge of the building with a blush on his cheeks and an orange cat on his right shoulder. Tall and lithe, he wasn't quite broad enough for the cat to stretch out on him, so it was standing with its hind legs on his shoulder and front feet on his head, paws batting playfully at the green bandanna he had over his thick black hair. The cat turned its furry face toward the people and let out a resounding hiss. Kaidoh blushed darker and put an embarrassed hand on the cat, who promptly went from spitting to purring and rubbing its cheeks on his bandanna.

Kamio turned back to Momo with a vindicated expression. He bristled when he found the taller boy smothering a laugh and not looking the least bit contrite. "Oi! Momoshiro!"

"Hah!" Momo laughed, pointing at Kaidoh and making the already embarrassed boy glower. "I think he _likes_ you, Mamushi."

Kaidoh let out a growling hiss that sounded remarkably like the one the cat had given. He'd come close enough to hand the cat to Ishida, but the Fudomine player hurried over to Kamio instead. The volatile redhead was a few seconds away from launching himself at Momo and wringing his smug neck.

"Momo," Kamio yelled, not quite pulling free of the restraining hand Ishida had placed on his shoulder. "Take responsibility, _teme_! I know you gave that thing to him. Where do you get off dumping cats on people? Do you know how sick you made him?"

Echizen smirked, his slanted eyes flicking up at Momo. "You shouldn't make rival players sick, Momo-senpai. It's not sporting."

"What?" Momo yelped, glaring from Echizen to Kamio. "I didn't make anyone sick!"

"You did so!" Kamio fumed. "Shinji's eyes were so red I thought he'd turned into that Rikkaidai freak."

"Wha-"

Echizen gave a look of mock disapproval. "You didn't make him _cry_, did you, Momo-senpai?"

"I don't even-"

"You just couldn't mind your own business," Kamio growled. "No, you had to shove that cat on him and run off. If you'd just left it alone, I would have-"

"All I did was-"

"-been there in a few minutes. I could have called the animal shelter instead of having to harbor some psychotic cat just because-"

"Animal shelter? What kind of-"

"-_you_ had to go giving it to him like it was some kind of gift. He was sneezing so bad he could have fallen off the bridge or been hit by a car. And you have the nerve to-"

"Wait! Are you saying-"

"-act like you don't even remember. Then you don't even have the decency to-"

"-he's allergic to cats? I thought he was just-"

"-apologize for what you did. When Shinji gets here, you're going to take that cat back and keep it yourself!"

"-being slow like he usually is…"

Kamio flinched to a halt, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Slow…?"

Momo snapped his mouth shut, wincing a bit and leaning further away from the Fudomine vice captain. "Er…"

"_Teme! _Where does an idiot like_ you _get off-"

A safe distance away, Tezuka was rubbing his temple with a pronounced frown. Eiji was peaking over Oishi's shoulder with a curious expression. Ishida had given up trying to calm Kamio down and was now talking to Kawamura about a tennis move they'd both experimented with. Inui sidled up to Kaidoh, who'd gone to lean against the building with the cat still rubbing its face all over his bandanna.

"You have a significant weakness for cats," Inui remarked, smirking when the younger player looked away all flustered and annoyed. "Don't worry, that's not the sort of data I'd use on the court. I would, however, be interested in testing a hypothesis of mine. If you'd step over to that cage…"

Kaidoh scowled a little, unable to deny a request from his senpai. He followed Inui until he spotted what was inside the cage. His eyes widened and for a moment he forgot to blush over the cat on his shoulder. "What _happened_ to that owl…?"

"She had a rather adverse reaction," Inui said pleasantly, his glasses gleaming.

The snowy gray owl glurbled and shook the edge of one drooping wing. Kaidoh dropped into a crouch and brushed tentative fingers over the feathers sticking out of the cage. Inui opened his notebook and held his pen aloft.

"Now," he said, in a scientific tone, "if you'll bring the 'psychotic cat' close to the cage…"

Kaidoh looked around with wide eyes. "What are you…?"

"Go ahead," Inui said with a pleasantly disturbing smile.

"H-hai…Inui-senpai…"

The owl gurgled at the sight of the cat. The cat sniffed at the wingtip protruding from the cage. The owl drooled a bit and splayed the feathers so they brushed the cat's nose. The cat let out a yowl and bolted over the stacked bags, its fur standing on end.

"As I suspected," Inui said calmly, writing in his notebook. "Animal instinct to avoid infection…"

Kamio and Momo jumped at the ear-splitting yowl and whirled to see the orange cat bolting away from the court. Kamio's expression twisted into a helpless grimace.

"Not _again_! Shinji's gonna kill me…!" He rounded to glare heatedly at Momo. "This is all your fault."

"Me?" Momo scowled. "Why didn't you put it in a cage if you were going to take it with you?"

A calm monotone voice answered from across the court. "He doesn't like being in a cage. Not that I blame him since I wouldn't want to be put in a cage, either. Of course, it wouldn't take me as long to figure out the lock as it did him, but he's a cat, so it's more impressive that he can get out of a cage. He still shouldn't be in one to begin with when he doesn't like it. It's as bad as taking him to a shelter and putting him in a cage there. If I did that, he'd probably run away, which may be how he ended up under the bridge to begin with. There is a chance he was there because someone dumped him for being psychotic, but I don't think he's that psychotic. He just doesn't like everyone. That's not so strange. Who likes everyone? I certainly don't. He's only b-"

A swiftly indrawn breath cut off the litany of words and was followed by a smothered sneeze. Kamio's relieved smile faded into a wince. He scowled over his shoulder at Momo, then crossed the court to Shinji.

The dark-haired boy had halted with the first sneeze. Now he stood with the large orange cat purring and rubbing its cheek against his face. His nose and mouth were hidden behind a blue silk handkerchief that had been supplied by his ever-prepared captain.

"Shinji," his captain said slowly, "I really don't think it's a good idea for you to bring that cat with you."

"It's not his fault that I'm," Shinji started to mutter, only to interrupt himself with another smothered sneeze.

His captain sighed with resignation. Tachibana Kippei, third year captain and coach of the Fudomine team, took his role as leader very seriously. He considered it his responsibility to take care of his players, particularly the ones who got themselves into trouble more often than not. Tall and naturally professional looking, with his perfectly clean clothes and evenly cropped black hair, he had dark warm eyes, an easy smile for his teammates, and a circular birthmark on his forehead. Few people who looked at him would realize he'd sported wild blonde hair and a haughty glower just two years ago.

Tachibana waved for Kamio to take the cat, but Ishida got there first. As much as the feline liked chewing on Ishida's arms, it had a wild fancy for red hair and was prone to attacking Kamio's face when given the chance. Ishida wrapped the struggling cat in his already hair-specked coat.

Shinji sniffled and rubbed the back of his hand over his damp eyes. "I can hold him myself, you know. He's my responsibility. Just because Kamio makes me keep him at his house doesn't mean he's not mine. It's not right to make Ishida hold him when they don't like each other. Ishida has birds at home, and a cat can smell that when-"

Having cleared his eyes well enough to see what was in front of him, Shinji took note of the Seigaku players standing across the court from him. He immediately forgot the cat in favor of staring at Echizen with a vague frown, and at Momo with a more pronounced one. He left Ishida holding the struggling bundle of fur and crossed to stand in front of Momo.

"You're too pushy," said Shinji. "I see why Kamio argues with you so much. I thought it was just because you kept hitting on Tachibana-san's sister, but now I think it's you. Pushy people are annoying."

Momo blinked wide eyes and scowled a little, quite defensive. "You were just standing there trying to figure out if you were going to save it or not. What was I supposed to do, let it drown? And I don't hit on Tachibana's sister! She's the one who keeps asking me and Echizen on dates like-"

He glanced across the court in time to see Tachibana raise an eyebrow at him. Momo closed his mouth with a faint blush. "Eheh…"

Echizen smirked from his place behind him. "Nice one, Momo-senpai."

Shinji blinked and glanced down at the freshman. His eyes widened when he saw the cage Echizen was standing next to. "You have a cat, too? And you keep him in a cage. That's not right."

"Karupin doesn't mind being in a cage," said Echizen. "He likes to sneak into my tennis bag all the time so he doesn't get left behind when I go on trips. He isn't claustrophobic at all."

"Really?" asked Shinji.

Momo let out a quiet sigh as the two boys crouched to look at Echizen's fluffy cat. As often as he and Echizen ran into the two Fudomine players, he never got over the weird friendship Echizen and Shinji had formed. It made his habitual fighting with Kamio seem normal by comparison.

"He isn't usually so quiet when there's another cat around," Echizen was saying. "Are you sure yours is a boy?"

"No," Shinji shrugged. "Kamio won't let me hold him much, so I haven't had a chance to look."

"How did you name it, then?" asked Echizen.

"I didn't. I'm not allowed to have a cat at home, so I don't want to get too attached. You don't want another one, do you? He doesn't like everyone, but he really likes the people he likes."

Echizen shot a frown at Momo, catching him by surprise. "Momo-senpai doesn't have any pets. If he gave the cat to you, you should give it back to him."

"You," Momo choked, "you traitor!"

"You shouldn't give cats to people who can't have them," Echizen said coolly, tugging his cap down a little. "I expected better of you, Momo-senpai."

"That's it," said Momo, scowling at both Echizen and Shinji. "You don't even know what happened. All I did was rescue the cat and hand it to him. I thought he'd let it go or find its owner or something. It's not like I knew he was allergic. But you know, he's awfully close to your cat, Echizen, and I don't hear any sneezing."

Echizen gave a sigh and shook his head sadly. "Such an irresponsible senpai. I bet Kaidoh-senpai would have taken it."

"So give it to Mamushi, then," Momo retorted, folding his arms and scowling off to the side. "I wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of a cat."

Shinji tilted his head a little, frowning up at Momo. "Pushy and irresponsible. Kamio was definitely right about you. That shouldn't surprise me, though, since he's usually right about people."

Echizen nodded sagely, his cap hiding the hint of humor in his dark eyes. "Kaidoh-senpai is much more responsible."

"Oi!" Momo protested.

"And he likes cats," Echizen continued, his tone making it clear that Kaidoh was far superior to the immature Momoshiro. "He'd be able to take care of a pet without pawning the job off on someone else."

"Very true," said Inui.

He'd popped up behind the two crouched teens, his sudden appearance making Echizen jump. Shinji just blinked neutrally, not the least bit unnerved by Inui's light-reflecting glasses.

"Kaidoh," Inui continued, in a confidential murmur, "would likely be tickled pink to have a cat he can actually take home with him. The trick will be getting him to admit it. He dislikes ruining his image, you see. Having people realize he has a soft spot for pretty felines would hurt his reputation."

A droll voice spoke up from a few feet away. "I can hear you, Inui-senpai."

Inui grinned, his glasses flashing as he glanced over. "Of course you can, Kaidoh. Naturally, that was my intention."

After a bit more discussion, Ishida was relieved of his squirming, scratching burden. Kaidoh continued to display a faint blush at the smirking looks Inui, Momo, and Echizen were sending him. He could only hope his cold and dangerous persona would take over before the rest of the rival teams arrived. He'd never live it down, otherwise.

In the meantime, Tachibana had made his formal greetings to Tezuka. The captains were currently discussing the trip, and which players they suspected had been chosen from the other teams. Aside from Ishida, none of the doubles players from Fudomine had been invited. They also commented on the white-haired man who'd come to personally invite them. He'd caused quite a stir at Fudomine, asking around for a coach who didn't exist.

Tachibana was amused to learn that the man had gotten the idea from Tezuka. The 'wizard' wouldn't have known that Fudomine was unlike the other schools when it came to the people managing the team. Tachibana ran everything, which he would have told the old man if he'd come to him instead of wandering around the school building like some hippie Santa. After having been so coldly dismissed by Seigaku's captain, Dumbledore had sought to avoid a repeat performance at Fudomine. Instead, he'd caused unnecessary trouble before Tachibana finally caught up with him.

Ishida and Kawamura were off on the other side of the court, once again whispering about the technique Ishida had created, and Kawamura had improved. They were of the opinion that if the others didn't start arriving soon, they'd take out their rackets and experiment a little. Ishida was eager to try receiving Kawamura's once-a-game _dash hodoukyuu_, and to show that he could do the two-handed hit as well as the Seigaku player could. Without his racket, Kawamura accepted the praise and challenge with a pleased smile and a faint blush. He was secretly hoping they wouldn't have a chance to practice, though. If he picked up a racket he was bound to be so loud he'd wake up Eiji.

Oishi had been content to stand near Tezuka and listen to the captains' discussion. It wasn't until he noticed Eiji's absence that he'd remembered how early it was, and how little sleep his partner had gotten. He blamed himself for that, since he'd called four times the night before to remind Eiji of things he'd likely forget to pack otherwise. He found his partner sitting against their bags, his head drooping ever lower toward his bent knees. With an amused smile, he'd sat beside him and offered a shoulder for the boy to droop on instead. A few minutes later, Eiji was slumped against him and the bags, dead to the world.

Murmured voices announced the arrival of the next group, one in particular sounding above the rest to identify them long before they came around the building and into view.

"Aniki, _please_! I'm sure he didn't mean it, Mizuki-san…!"

"Na, Yuuta, you really shouldn't look behind you when you walk, you might stumble."

Fuji came into view, his eyes hidden by his happy smile, and his younger brother chafing under the arm he'd thrown over the boy's shoulders. Behind them trailed a fuming Mizuki, who was tugging a strand of his black hair and staring holes through Fuji's head, and St. Rudolph's captain, Akazawa, who was watching the three with an amused smirk.

Dragging his somewhat squirmy brother with him, Fuji went to unload their bags near the rest. He paused when he spotted Oishi and Eiji, his smile shifting from _'devilishly amused at his brother's expense'_ to _'honestly fond of his friend's cuteness'_. Oishi smiled back at him and lifted a hand in greeting, not wanting to rouse Eiji. Fuji took advantage of the situation by turning Yuuta and placing a finger over the boy's mouth, catching him before he could protest the manhandling.

"Ne," Fuji whispered sweetly, "please don't wake Eiji, Yuuta."

Mizuki gave a quiet murmur about how calculating Fuji Syusuke was, using every opening to his advantage. The note of sly approval added to the faint blush already forming on Yuuta's cheeks. If being teased and drug around by his older brother wasn't bad enough, now he had to listen to Mizuki praise the enemy. It just wasn't _fair_.

One soft laugh from Akazawa, and Yuuta's head resembled an overly ripe tomato with light brown hair. He bristled for a full minute before squirming out from under his brother's arm. His eyes flew over the assembled teens and locked on Echizen. He beat a hasty retreat from the smothering affection.

Mizuki and Fuji both took a step after the boy. Mizuki glanced over at the tensai, ready with a witty remark for when the teen turned to look at him. Fuji stared after Yuuta for a moment, then stepped smartly to the side and went off to see what Kawamura and Ishida were talking so intently about. Mizuki slumped in fuming frustration at being ignored so completely. Then he shook it off and went to hover over Yuuta's shoulder. He knew that sooner or later Fuji would be back by his little brother's side, and when he was, Mizuki would already be in position waiting for him. Two birds with one stone. Nothing less could be expected from the manager of St. Rudolph.

Akazawa watched his teammates settle into some sort of debate with Fudomine's Ibu, who appeared to be blocking Yuuta from gaining access to Echizen. While that looked interesting, he wasn't particularly eager to follow Mizuki around. He arranged their bags near Seigaku's, and went to stand over Oishi and Eiji, who were, in his opinion, far more entertaining.

"Kaneda wasn't invited," Akazawa said quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping boy, or annoy Oishi, who was giving him a less than friendly look. "He would have liked the chance to have a rematch against the two of you. Me, I'd rather have a singles match, against _you_."

Oishi blinked in surprise, losing some of the wary tenseness he'd acquired. He couldn't help but be uncomfortable. His partner was still sleeping against him, and that brought out his protective side, especially when faced with someone who'd targeted Eiji to the point where they'd actually lost a match. The idea that Akazawa wanted a rematch didn't surprise him. It was the idea that he wanted to play _him_ that caught him off guard. He'd gotten the disturbing impression that Akazawa had enjoyed watching Eiji struggle, not just because it meant they were losing, but because he enjoyed the sight of it, which in turn made Oishi dislike the player in a way he rarely disliked anyone.

"I didn't play you during that match," Akazawa explained, with a sly, knowing smile. "I approached it as a singles match, with Kikumaru there as my target. Mizuki identified him as the one to defeat, and I rarely find it necessary to go against his judgment. But you caught me by surprise. I'd be interested in seeing how we match up."

"You know your shot won't affect me the way it did Eiji," Oishi said softly. He winced when Eiji grumbled beside him, reacting to the sound of his name. He held his breath until the redhead settled down, half-curled against him and the bags behind them.

Akazawa smiled and eased away from the pair. "He really _can_ sleep anywhere, can't he. We can discuss this later."

Oishi's eyes darkened as he watched the teen walk over to join the other captains. He was again reminded of why he disliked him so much. It was the way he smiled, especially when he was looking at Eiji. While he didn't have that manipulative smirk Mizuki specialized in, there was something…_sleazy_…about the way Akazawa smiled. It made Oishi want to cover up his partner so the guy couldn't look at him at all. He instinctively felt protective and defensive when he saw that smile, and he suspected he would accept if the captain were to challenge him to a real match.

Over on the other side of the growing stack of luggage, Kamio was in a very different mood from the one he'd been in earlier. Now that he no longer had to keep that psychotic cat at his house – supplying the tissues when Shinji insisted on holding it at least twice a day – he was fine standing next to Momoshiro. The two of them were far too distracted by the bickering in front of them to start an argument of their own. Kamio was actually impressed. He'd never seen Shinji be so rude to someone as he was to St. Rudolph's Fuji Yuuta.

"Look, I don't even _know_ you," Yuuta was saying, waving his arms in exasperation. "You act like you're Echizen's keeper or something."

"I don't see why you lie when we both know you're lying," Shinji murmured back, his slightly narrowed eyes and thin frown showing his displeasure. "You know me as well as I know you. We met on this street court not more than a month ago. You interrupted me and tried to get Echizen to play you, when I had the right to a match first. Then you messed things up so I had to play _with_ Echizen instead of against him. Not only that, but I had to play against _Kamio_, when, if anything, it should have been me playing with _him_ against Echizen and that pushy guy Kamio likes to yell at. Actually, that was more his fault, now that I think about it."

Shinji turned to scowl at Mizuki, who blinked in surprise. Behind him, Kamio was smirking at Momoshiro's insulted expression. Yuuta shot a pleading look down at Echizen, who merely smiled and tugged his cap lower over his face.

Mizuki raised his hands with a quick smile. "I counted points, but it was actually Fuji Syusuke's idea to draw straws to determine the pairs."

"Another Fuji," Shinji muttered, scowling at Yuuta again. "Yuuta's brother shouldn't put his nose in other people's business."

A strange thing happened after that insulting statement. Yuuta's previously pained face shifted into a wide-eyed look of surprise. Then he smiled.

"Maybe we should play a match," suggested Yuuta, "to see who gets to play Echizen first."

"I'll crush you," Shinji warned. He frowned a little in confusion when Yuuta's smile didn't falter at all. He was even more confused by the amused smirk on Mizuki's face. His expression grew instantly suspicious.

"Are you going to help Yuuta's brother mess things up again?" he asked Mizuki.

Yuuta beamed, and Mizuki chuckled, twirling a finger around the loose hair that fell along his forehead. Shinji had no idea how happy he'd made Yuuta, having Fuji referred to as _his_ brother, rather than the other way around. He shook his head at the Fudomine player and flashed him a serene smile.

"Not at all," said Mizuki. "I'll be more than happy to distract…_Yuuta's brother_…while you two have your match."

Yuuta rounded with a surprised expression, his eyes almost shining. "Mizuki-san…"

With a sly smile, Mizuki curled an arm over the younger boy's shoulders. "Leave it to me, Yuuta-kun."

A cheerful voice and a seemingly absentminded push broke them apart. Fuji was abruptly between them, tugging Yuuta away with a blind smile that disregarded Mizuki's very existence.

"Saeki's here," Fuji smiled, pulling his brother away from them. "He looks very lonely. Come cheer him up with me."

Yuuta shot a wincing look back at the fuming Mizuki, and wilted a little. "Hai…"

"Yuuta's brother is rude," Shinji commented, frowning after the two.

"Quite," Mizuki glowered.

Behind them, Echizen tugged on his cap with a snarky, "Mada mada dane."

Just as Fuji had noted, Saeki was standing near the edge of the court, his eyes downcast and almost forlorn. He let out a relieved sigh when Fuji joined him, and even managed a faint smile for Yuuta's uncomfortable blushing.

"Just me," said Saeki. "I really don't understand why Davide wasn't invited, or even Kentarou - he's the captain. It's like Rokkaku barely got a glance. You should have seen Kentarou's face..."

Fuji gave a sympathetic smile and released Yuuta so he could put a warm hand on his friend's drooping shoulder. "I'm glad you came, anyway."

"And I don't think they invited people according to standard," Yuuta offered. "I'm the only first year on the team, but I was invited while Kisarazu-senpai wasn't. But he heard from his brother that Hyoutei's entire regular team was invited, everyone but their reserve, even though he was the one who played Echizen in an official match. They can't be using any set standard to choose people."

Fuji flashed his brother a grateful smile. "See? It's nothing to feel guilty over. You won't be alone, either. You can stay with Seigaku while we're gone, or even St. Rudolph if you want."

Yuuta nodded quickly. "Mizuki-san would like that."

"Seigaku would probably be best," Fuji said, his smile widening inexplicably.

Yuuta glowered and gave a sudden nod to the white-haired teen. "Excuse me, Saeki-san. I need to get back to my team now."

Saeki watched the boy walk away and smirked a bit at Fuji's resigned sigh. "You're as unsubtle as ever, Fuji. I mean it, you _have_ to work on that brother-complex."

Fuji's eyes opened a bit, just enough to glint knowingly at Saeki. "Maybe it would be better for you to stay close to St. Rudolph during this trip. You could keep an eye on certain people, and keep Yuuta company, of course."

Saeki laughed and rested his elbow on Fuji's shoulder, following his gaze across the court where Yuuta was once more as thick as thieves with Mizuki. "I'll do it, Fuji, but you have to promise me you'll work on it."

"I already have," Fuji said simply. "Anyone but him, Saeki. I can stand being grateful to him for taking care of Yuuta, but I'll never like him."

"You still think he's just using Yuuta to get to you?" asked Saeki.

"He doesn't even have the grace to hide it," Fuji sniffed distastefully.

Across the court, Mizuki found himself suffering from a sudden sneezing fit.

"Saeki-kun! Where's your team?"

Fuji and Saeki turned to find three familiar Yamabuki players approaching. Well, one approaching them, a little one darting off toward Echizen, and one standing a foot from the edge of the court and looking as if he'd stay rooted in that spot until he was forced by gunpoint to move. Dan Taichi waved at them as he passed and Sengoku stopped next to Saeki with a cheerfully curious smile. Akutsu Jin remained glaring bloody murder at anyone who dared to so much as look in his direction.

"My team wasn't invited," Saeki said in answer to Sengoku's question. "I take it the three of you are the max from your team?"

"Yep," Sengoku nodded. He shrugged and smirked back at Akutsu. "Funny they invited Jin, though. He really didn't want to go, since he stopped playing tennis, and he's not even on the team anymore. But that old man threatened him with something. I'm not really sure what, but I think it had to do with some…_missing owls_…"

Saeki flushed and paled consecutively, his eyes flicking away to avoid Fuji's raised eyebrow. "Imagine that..."

Sengoku grinned but didn't enlighten Fuji as to the owl mutilation he'd caught Saeki committing. Luckily for Saeki's dignity, Fuji was distracted by a worrisome sight. Kawamura had approached Akutsu and was attempting to engage him in conversation. Fuji joined him, leaving Saeki to ask Sengoku a question that had been buzzing in his head since he'd gotten the letter a few days earlier.

"That person you were meeting," Saeki started, his expression curious. "It wasn't someone from Seigaku?"

Sengoku blinked in surprise, a playful smile breaking over his face. "Didn't I say it was a secret?"

"Yes," said Saeki, "but I didn't ask who you were _meeting_. I asked who you _weren't_ meeting."

Sengoku gave a slow nod, playing along. "Right. Well, then. No, it wasn't someone from Seigaku. It wasn't anyone who actually lived around there."

"I knew it!" Saeki grinned at the suddenly worried expression on Sengoku's face. "It's the one you roomed with during the Goodwill tournament. That's when you said you weren't going to date girls anymore. He's here if you-"

"You sure know how to get something wrong," Sengoku said cheerfully. "You had it all figured out, too. But you know, I didn't say I wasn't going to date girls. I said I wouldn't waste any more of my time chasing them. I just decided I'd sit back and let them come to me from now on."

Saeki blinked, confusion swamping his face. "Then the person you were meeting was a girl...?"

"No."

"…I don't get it."

Sengoku laughed and patted a hand on the pale-haired boy's back. "That's because it's a secret. But since I can tell you who it's not, it's definitely _not_ Rhythm-kun. He's cute enough, but he's not really my type. Didn't seem too interested in me, either. I don't mind a chase, but jeeze, he'd run all over me, and where's the fun in that? I'm not exactly a push-over, you know."

Saeki sighed. "You're not going to help me out at all, are you."

"Why would I?" Sengoku grinned. "You shot me down before I even thought about hitting on you, so it's not like I owe you info on my rebound target."

A droll expression fell over Saeki's face as he remembered the incident. He was still irritated at the joke that had been played on him. "I really need to pay that Kajimoto back..."

"I wouldn't worry too much," said Sengoku. "I have it on good authority that he wasn't invited. Besides, you were cute when you thought I was going to ask you out. I don't think anyone's ever been that polite about turning me down. Almost made me wish I'd asked you first."

"You _would_ laugh," Saeki grumbled. "I spent two hours planning out what to say so I wouldn't hurt your feelings."

Sengoku nodded sadly. "And that's why I never even thought about asking you out. You're way too nice for me, Saeki-kun."

"Playboy."

"And then some," said Sengoku.

Over by the gray-haired statue of doom, otherwise known as Akutsu Jin, Kawamura was beginning to falter. Whatever strange form of friendship they had wasn't enough to convince the former player to step on the court, let alone to..._mingle_. Akutsu was very blunt about the danger aimed at anyone who tried to sway him in this.

"I agreed to come," he spat coldly. "I never said I'd play. I've no intention of stepping onto a tennis court again."

Kawamura bit his lower lip, sending a worried glance over at Fuji, who'd come to stand near him as if providing moral support. He didn't feel comfortable talking about the short game Akutsu had played with Echizen before the match against Rikkaidai, not with his teammate right there. As far as he knew, Echizen had never mentioned it to anyone, so only they knew the Yamabuki player had broken his vow never to touch a racket again so soon after making it. Of course, it had been Kawamura's racket, borrowed for the occasion, but still. He'd seen his old friend play shortly after walking away from the team, a game played solely to encourage someone he swore he hated. That wasn't the sort of subject he could broach with Fuji nearby, which was probably for the best. Akutsu was annoyed enough that he might have seriously considered killing him if he'd mentioned it right then.

"Did you leave your things on the other side of the clubhouse?" asked Kawamura, doing his best to smile despite Akutsu's nasty glare. "I can help you bring it over if-"

"You're so pathetic," Akutsu marveled, his upper lip rising a hair. "I'm here under _protest_, you moron. They've gotten me to go, but they're not getting anything but me. If you're so desperate to be helpful, you can go get the kid's bags since he's too scrawny to carry them himself. And take your little _tensai_ with you. He's so territorial he looks like he's about to piss on your leg."

Kawamura blanched, a furious flush striking out on his pale cheeks. He couldn't even look back at Fuji as he stepped to the side to block him from Akutsu's sight. His voice was a scandalized whisper.

"Akutsu-san, that's uncalled for. Fuji hasn't done anything to you. If you don't want to be bothered, then-"

"Of _course_ I don't want to be bothered," Akutsu growled, leaning forward so his glare was inches from Kawamura's wide eyes. "Why the hell do you think I'm standing over here instead of prancing around with the rest of you? Leave me alone, _Takashi_. I've had a very bad day."

Akutsu gave the orange-haired teen a firm shove and turned away just as quick. A moment later he was sitting on the grass opposite the building where everyone else had congregated. Everything in his demeanor, from the large branch he'd torn from a nearby tree and had every intention of using on the next idiot to approach him, to his scowling eyes and sneering mouth, said to leave him the fuck alone or die.

Kawamura wilted and pulled away from Fuji, who'd steadied him after the shove. He turned with a woebegone air, his eyes locked on his feet.

"Gomen, Fujiko-chan..."

"For what?" Fuji smiled. "Come on, Taka-san. He's had a bad day, ne? You can talk to him another time."

Flashing Fuji a grateful smile, Kawamura let himself be drawn over to where Saeki and Sengoku were. He couldn't resist one last glance over his shoulder to where Akutsu was seated, but the resulting glare had him whipping back around very quickly. That hadn't gone at all well...

"You sure are a brave one," Sengoku said, when Kawamura and Fuji joined them. "You and Taichi-kun are about the only people who can talk to him, and even Taichi-kun had trouble when we met up on the way here. I had to walk between them to keep the kid from saying the wrong thing. Whatever they used to blackmail Jin, he's really sore about it. You just don't do that sort of thing to him and expect to live long."

Fuji frowned and wondered what that would mean once they were surrounded by the very people who were behind that insult. Kawamura, on the other hand, was relieved to know that Akutsu really did have a reason for his current mood. While the shove hadn't been particularly hard, Akutsu had never really lashed out at him physically before. He seemed to prefer publicly humiliating him over the sort of violence he enacted on everyone else. That was the main reason Kawamura refused to stop considering him a friend. Or maybe it was just his painfully consistent good nature, wanting to see the best in everyone.

The only two members of Jyousei Shounan to have been invited showed up with a sullen cloud hanging over their heads. Their coach, Hanamura, had thrown a royal fit when she found out that the invitations were not a joke, and that only two of her masterpieces had been chosen. The old wizard had somehow convinced her to let them go, but the way she'd looked at them when she told them the news...

Shinjou's shoulders had taken on a permanent slump and even Wakato's pleasure at one-upping Kajimoto was dampened. The red-haired player walked as if each step was painful, and it had nothing to do with the heavy bags hanging over his shoulder. But unlike Shinjou, he managed to divert himself when he glanced over the other players. His attention locked on a certain reptile-like teen, who appeared to be..._cuddling_…with a fluffy orange cat. He abruptly abandoned his teammate in favor of annoying the self-proclaimed viper.

Shinjou stopped on the edge of the court, once again feeling lost. Not only had he inadvertently incurred Hanamura-sensei's wrath, but he was surrounded by people he barely knew by name and didn't care to know any better. He wasn't the sort to start trouble with people he'd played against in the past, nor was he interested in joining the _'captain's circle'_, since he wasn't representing his team now that he'd lost his coach's approval. He sighed and walked over to leave his things near the very large pile of bags. He paused when he noticed the pair seated at the edge of the stack.

Oishi had learned that it was difficult to sit quietly with a warm friend sleeping against his side. After a few minutes of smothering yawns, and flashing weak smiles at Tezuka's raised eyebrow, he'd given in. He'd dozed off almost immediately, and didn't so much as twitch when Shinjou carefully set his bags down.

Tempted to join the pair - not in overly close slumber, thank you so much, but in sitting and using the bags as a back-brace while he waited - Shinjou sent one slow look over the other players to make sure there wasn't anything better to do. Across the sea of carefully and not so carefully placed bags, he spotted Wakato mocking a fuming Kaidoh, Echizen dozing near a cage with what appeared to be a fluffy Himalayan cat, a few vaguely familiar St. Rudolph players, and the only stranger he'd ever played doubles with.

Shinji blinked at him and tilted his head to the side, reminding Shinjou of the cocker spaniel puppy his sister had tried to stick him with the last time she'd gone on holiday.

The similarity brought a tiny hint of a smile to his face, but he winced at the thought of going over there. They'd shared a room during the Goodwill tournament, after Oshitari decided he couldn't spend another night with the boy, and they'd shared a court together in an unquestionably interesting doubles game, two things he'd never done with anyone he didn't know. And still, Shinjou couldn't decide what to make of him. The Fudomine player was definitely a tensai, but he mumbled at the oddest times, even when he was sleeping, and he'd apologized when they lost their match, as if Shinjou weren't equally to blame. Shinjou had found him to be unusual, annoying, interesting, and easy to be around, all at the same time. And the tensai slept with his shirt off. Not that it mattered since Reiji Shinjou was undeniably straight, and had been since he'd first laid eyes on Hanamura-sensei. It was just another detail to add to his informal inventory of Ibu Shinji.

With a resigned sigh, Shinjou gave in and answered that tilted head with a slight nod. He crossed over the court and stopped next to the Fudomine player. Shinji's head tilted a bit more so he could look up at him.

Shinjou shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and gave another nod. "Hello."

"Hi," said Shinji.

They stared at each other for a minute. Then both turned to watch the theatrics passing between Kamio and Yuuta, who were quite deep in a discussion about how many times Fuji had visited Tachibana at the hospital, and whether he'd been seeing Ann since. Yuuta had no idea what the redhead was talking about, but with Momo on his side, Kamio wasn't about to back down. It had built to an interesting impasse. Mizuki was hanging on every word, Kamio was fuming at the idea of Fuji having a secret affair with Tachibana's little sister, and Momo was getting a kick out of seeing Kamio yell at someone else for a change.

None of the talk seemed to bother the two boys dozing off to the side of them. Yamabuki's Dan Taichi had taken his Echizen-mimicry to a new level and was currently pretending to sleep a foot from the prone Seigaku freshman. It would have been more believable if he'd had a cap to cover his bored face.

A pained cry broke out over the court, making the Golden Pair jerk upright with blurry eyes, and causing Echizen to scowl and jerk his hat further down over his face. Wakato had just learned exactly how much that fluffy orange cat - formerly Shinji's and now Kaidoh's - liked red hair. One minute he'd been mocking a growling and bristling Kaidoh, with Inui smirking and taking notes a few feet away. The next he was on his backside in the middle of a pile of bags, holding his scratched cheek with a horrified expression on his face. The only thing going through his mind was that he didn't want a scar because he couldn't pull off the _permanent plaster on the face_ thing like Kikumaru Eiji could.

Wakato didn't even pause to yell at Kaidoh for not controlling his rabid pet better. He made a beeline for his bag, intent on finding his mirror and making sure the damage was minimal. He'd resigned himself with being separated from his doting fangirls for the next month, but he couldn't go back to them with a scarred face. They were too shallow for that. They'd dump him and he'd have to start gathering fans from scratch. The prospect was too depressing to even entertain.

Eiji yawned and leaned to his right so he could stretch his arms without whapping Oishi upside the head. Then he flexed forward and winced at a light pop in his back from leaning against the bags. Beside him Oishi was rubbing a hand over his eyes and marveling at the fact that he'd actually dozed off with so many people around him.

"Oishi?" Eiji murmured, once he'd woken enough to notice all the players gathered on the court. "When did Fuji get here?"

Oishi smothered a yawn and pushed his sleeve back to glance at his wristwatch. "It's only been an hour...? Fuji got here a few minutes after you fell asleep. Feels like we've been here all night, or morning."

"No," Eiji muttered, rubbing his own eyes. "I'll be tired again in a few minutes. I definitely wasn't asleep for hours."

He flashed his partner a knowing smirk. "You know how the power-nap thing works with me. If I'm not out long enough to dream, it's not a real sleep."

"Sorry," Oishi offered with a wan smile. "But it's probably just as well. It looks like most of the teams have arrived. Fudomine, St. Rudolph, Yamabuki, only one person from Rokkaku...? And Jyousei Shounan's Reiji Shinjou is over there with Momo."

"I'm here, too, you know," Wakato grumped.

The two teens turned to look over at him with surprise, not having noticed him where he was crouched over a bag to their right. Eiji winced in sympathy at the red scratch marring the boy's cheek and fingered his own bandage. "What happened?"

"That snake's cat scratched me," said Wakato, with a nasty glare over at Kaidoh, who was petting said cat with a smug smirk.

"It's Kaidoh's cat?" Eiji blinked, looking from Kaidoh to Oishi. "Nya, Oishi. I thought it was Ibu's cat."

Oishi shrugged. "It's been a busy hour..."

"It's about to get busier," said Tezuka.

Oishi and Eiji were surprised to see that the informal _'captain's circle'_ had broken apart, with Tezuka and Fuji now standing near them and their luggage, the others rounding up their own teammates. Oishi got up and pulled Eiji along with him. He ran a quick hand over his slightly rumpled clothing and was ready when the Hyoutei team made its entrance onto the courts.

Atobe Keigo sauntered across the court with an almost helplessly amused smile on his face. They'd remodeled the cheap 'public' court since the last time he'd visited it, but it was still pathetically inadequate for a player of his esteemed talents. Not to mention that it was dirty and had _real grass_ separating the court from the little clubhouse. He walked right up to Tezuka and stopped, his team spreading out behind him.

"Who'd have thought we would have a rematch before the Nationals," Atobe said as a greeting. "Fortuitous, isn't it?"

Tezuka didn't give any reaction to the taunting gleam in Atobe's eyes. It was too troublesome to egg the rival player on. With his ego, Atobe did well enough without provocation.

"There's no guarantee that we'll be matched against each other at this event," Tezuka said evenly. "But if we are, it should be a good game."

"Yes, it will," Atobe said silkily, almost giddy at the prospect – not that he'd show it since that sort of immaturity would have undermined his perfectly superior demeanor. "This time I will defeat you at full strength. Is it safe to assume your arm is actually _healed_ this time? I wouldn't want to put you in the hospital again…"

Tezuka's eyes narrowed a fraction, the only sign he gave to that taunt. Neither of them had been satisfied with the results of their match, but he knew for a fact the victory had been empty for Atobe. He'd made that clear when they'd shaken hands after the match. Why the insufferably arrogant captain insisted on pretending otherwise was a mystery that Tezuka wasn't quite masochistic enough to try and solve. So instead of speaking and encouraging the narcissist, he held his stoic silence and simply _stared_. Tezuka was very good at staring.

"Well," Atobe said, after the silence had stretched a little longer than he cared for, "there will be more than enough time for that when we get to Hogwarts. I take it you've never been there, Tezuka-kun?"

Kamio, who'd joined Tachibana the moment the Hyoutei team strolled onto the court, snorted at the taunt. He was never going to see Atobe Keigo as anything but a pretentious worm who had to threaten girls to get them to date him. The fact that the girl he'd threatened was none other than Tachibana's little sister made it even more condemning. Why was it all the really annoying tennis players had to go after Ann-chan?

"I'll bet _you_ have," Kamio muttered, just loudly enough for the self-absorbed jerk to hear him. "Hanging out with perverted owl-raising weirdos would be _right_ up your alley."

Atobe blinked in amazement, disbelief lighting his perfectly porcelain complexion. He turned to stare at Kamio as if he'd never seen him before in his life. "Who said you could speak to me? Kabaji, get rid of this peon."

"Usu."

The tall teen bent over to set a snoring body on the ground. Then he reappeared, his head towering over the rest of Hyoutei's team. He stalked through them with his sights set on Kamio, who actually took a step back in surprise.

Tezuka let out a silent groan and dropped his head, rubbing his temple again and not interfering since, happily, it wasn't his team this time. Atobe smirked at the pained look on his eternal rival's face, more interested in that than the mayhem he'd instigated. Neither of them noticed when Fuji slipped off with an innocent smile.

Kamio wasn't the sort to back down when someone he taunted actually got angry enough to try and attack him. Normally he'd just dodge a little, make the person look like an idiot, and taunt him some more. But the very large Hyoutei player was like a brick wall when it came to insults, and anyone who'd seen him play knew he had impossible speed to go with his hulking mass. A deep sense of self-preservation had Kamio swallowing his pride and letting Ishida shield him from the oncoming menace. He hadn't counted on how very focused Kabaji could be when he was given a direct order from Atobe.

Kabaji pushed Ishida aside with a little more force than necessary. Tachibana stepped forward and caught the rival player's wrist, not the least bit intimidated by the size difference.

"That's enough," said Tachibana. His tone was as cold as any parent lecturing a delinquent child.

Kabaji halted and blinked down at him in slow surprise.

"This is hardly the sort of behavior for upstanding Japanese tennis players to be displaying," Oishi started, though his disapproving tone was directed at Atobe, rather than Kabaji. "Do you want Hyoutei to be known as Neanderthals?"

Atobe didn't take his eyes off Tezuka's pained expression, but his smirk widened a bit. "Your vice captain sounds quite distraught, Tezuka-kun. Shouldn't you look to see what's disturbing him?"

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched. Atobe wanted him to look, wanted him to get a pounding migraine, just so he could smirk at him and take credit for having caused it. He knew the supercilious captain would stop his lumbering thug before anyone from Fudomine was actually hurt. The entire thing was just a display of his supposed power – that prowess he liked to go on about so often.

"Are you all right, Ishida-san?" asked Kawamura, who was now standing near the Fudomine player and frowning unhappily at Kabaji.

"Take this, Taka-san," a cheerful voice murmured.

Tezuka's head jerked back. He knew that voice, especially when it said those particular words. He rounded on Fuji a few seconds too late. "Don't-"

"_GREAT-O! _I'm_ BURNING!_"

Tennis racket in hand, Kawamura was transformed into a raving lunatic with a very loud voice and mangled English, complete with fire billowing in his eyes and so much energy a person could almost see it flaming around him. Kabaji turned to stare, blinking his brown eyes in an almost curious fashion. He didn't notice when Tachibana released his wrist in favor of lecturing Fuji for making a bad situation much worse. Fuji simply smiled that pleasant _'I'm enjoying the show'_ smile of his. A few people on the outskirts of the crowd turned to blink in surprise at the low chuckles coming from a certain similarly psychotic player seated on the other side of the court.

"No one touches _MY_ friends!" Kawamura bellowed, grinning in challenge at the significantly larger teen. "You want to try me? Yosh! _LET'S GO_!"

Kabaji cocked his head to the side and blinked over at Atobe, clearly uncertain as to how he should get through the interesting bipolar player. The last time he and Kawamura had played each other, both of them had ended up in the hospital, and Kabaji wasn't exactly eager for a repeat performance. That had really hurt…

Tezuka was scowling over at the peacefully smiling Fuji, who was looking quite pleased with himself. Atobe finally realized that he was no longer the center of _anyone's_ attention, except for the obedient Kabaji, who didn't really count anyway since he always had Kabaji's attention.

Atobe's smirk faded into a little scowl and he sniffed in distaste. "Kabaji. Wake up Jiroh and start bringing our things from the van. The little peon isn't worth this much trouble."

"Usu," said Kabaji.

"Oi!" yelled Kamio.

Momo and Oishi caught the redhead before he could launch himself at Atobe, both of them feeling a very strong sense of déjà vu. Luckily for them, Tachibana was there this time. Kamio gave up the fight the moment his captain frowned at him.

Sulking angrily, Kamio sufficed with grumbling under his breath about insufferable asses who were too stupid to realize his name was much more important than Momo's and that it was an honor to be given it, and he'd definitely show the jerk the next time he caught him away from his bull-like bodyguard. He didn't really notice that his grudge and grumbling were very reminiscent of Shinji. If he had, he might have questioned how much time he spent with his friend, and the bad habits that were undoubtedly rubbing off on him.

Now that his hands were free, Oishi hurried to take the racket away from Kawamura. The tall player looked ready to chase after Kabaji, or at least start ranting about how cowardly it was to run away from a challenge. The moment the racket was slid from his grip, the ranting faded into an abashed sigh. The kind, shy, and all-around nice guy was back, just like that.

Oishi handed the racket to Fuji with a pointed frown. The tensai smiled at him and returned it to Kawamura's tennis bag.

Fuji didn't show a hint of regret for having acted so rashly because, really, he didn't regret it at all. It was always fun to see Kawamura fired up, and if the display annoyed the heck out of Tezuka, well, that just made it even better. There was also the added bonus of drawing attention away from Atobe. Truly, there was absolutely nothing to regret about his actions. Except maybe that he would have liked it if the display had lasted a while longer. He'd never seen Akutsu Jin chuckle before, and he was curious how a _'burning'_ Kawamura would greet his old friend. As it was, he filed the idea away as something to test out the next time he was bored.

The Hyoutei players dispersed a little when Kabaji walked through them. He bent down and picked up the limp body from where he'd placed it on the ground. Holding the boy by the back of his shirt, he gave him a rough shake and let go.

Akutagawa Jiroh, third year Hyoutei regular and bona fide narcoleptic, let out a whimpering groan and slumped onto his backside when Kabaji dropped him. He was on the short side, with curly pale brown hair that lent itself to orange and was constantly tousled due to his habit of dozing off in the strangest places. He swayed gently, blinking sleepily at his teammates, and then past them to Atobe, and few feet to the right where a familiar Seigaku player was standing. A tiny spark ignited in his eyes and grew, brightening slowly until a wide, happily curious expression took over his face.

"It's Fuji Syusuke!" he chirped cheerfully, coming as close as he got to being fully awake, outside a really interesting tennis match. He hopped up as if he hadn't just been dead asleep, and hurried over to beam at the smiling tensai.

"What do you think the matches will be, Fuji-kun? Ne? You think we can play each other? Mmm! I want to play you again! If we don't get matched, would you play a game with me, anyway? Please? You're really fun to play! Your triple counters are so _interesting_! I wanna return your higuma otoshi! Or your hakuge! That would be so_ cool_…!"

Fuji smiled at the cheerful teen and resisted the urge to pat him on the head. While Jiroh was undoubtedly a Hyoutei player, his personality was more akin to Eiji than any of Atobe's normal regulars. Jiroh's enthusiasm could be irritating to some – Tezuka had called it as exhausting to watch as Eiji on coffee – but his genuine curiosity and love of the game were endearing.

Back with the Hyoutei players, Oshitari was frowning at the bubbling Jiroh, his eyebrow twitching with irritation. "He never shows enthusiasm like that when I use higuma otoshi on him. As if Fuji is the only one who can do that move. Once you have seen it, the dynamics are hardly difficult to understand."

"Bah," Gakuto sniffed, wrinkling his nose at the annoying narcoleptic. "Jiroh just has bad taste. I liked it better when the only rival he went stupid over was that Marui Bunta guy. At least he's from Rikkaidai instead of a cheap school like _Seigaku_. It's one thing for Jiroh to pick up that rising shot of his, but if he starts copying Fuji's moves…egh!"

"Atobe might not disapprove of that," said Oshitari, though he didn't look very enthusiastic about the idea. "It doesn't matter who he picks up the moves from, so long as it improves his game. There is a good chance we will be separated according to House, rather than team, in which case Jiroh will most likely be placed with the majority of Seigaku. It's convenient that he's so able to ingratiate himself with their tensai. "

"There you go talking about houses again," said Gakuto. "This pig place-"

"_Hogwarts_. It's British."

"- sounds stupid," Gakuto finished. "There's no way I'm getting put with some _Seigaku_ rejects."

Oshitari gave a slow, scheming-tensai smile that might have rivaled Fuji's if his eyes had gleamed just a tad more. "Now, Gakuto, don't be so hasty. Just imagine the chaos you could cause. Between you and Jiroh, Seigaku would self-destruct within a week. You should give yourself more credit."

Gakuto preened and leaned into Oshitari's side with a smug smile. "I _would_ drive them crazy, wouldn't I. Even Tezuka. Heh, Atobe would have a _fit_ over that."

"He would," Oshitari drawled with a smirk. "Best keep your sights on the tensai and leave the captain to Atobe. He's been looking forward to crushing him far too long to deprive him of that pleasure."

"Mm, torturing a tensai _does_ sound fun…"

A few feet away, Eiji was squirming with frustrated annoyance. He fidgeted and tugged on his arm, Oishi playing spoilsport on the other end. "_Unya_, Oishi! You heard that rat. I have to warn _Fuji_!"

Oishi sent a knowing look from Eiji, over to the speculating Hyoutei pair. He wasn't fooled by his partner's claim. The minute he let go of Eiji's wrist, the spirited teen would be in Gakuto's line of sight and another unnecessary argument would break out. While Eiji wasn't _really_ a troublemaker, at least, not all the time, there was something between him and Hyoutei's own acrobatic player. The two couldn't even look at each other without Gakuto saying something foul, and Eiji jumping to take the bait. They were natural enemies.

"I'm sure Fuji can take care of himself," said Oishi. "Can you really see him feeling threatened by _them_? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were just jealous of the attention Jiroh is getting…"

Eiji blinked a bit and frowned over at Fuji, who still seemed to be entertained by the curly-haired narcoleptic. He stared for a long minute, willing himself to see what it was that Fuji found so amusing about the guy. Then he gave up and shot his partner a pouting look. "I'm not jealous. I'm _bored_…"

"Have you been waiting long, Kikumaru-san?" a soft voice asked.

They turned to find Ohtori Choutarou giving them a somewhat shy smile. Eiji immediately returned the smile with a wide grin. His happy greeting was cut off by Ohtori's scowling partner.

"You don't have to be so damned nice about it," scoffed Shishido. He sent a resigned look at Oishi and shrugged his shoulders. "Choutarou wants a match with you guys. With our real double pairs this time. I told him it was pointless. You had enough trouble trying to return his scud serve when you were paired with me. There's no way _he_ can do it, so it would be more like two on one than a real doubles game."

"Oi!" Eiji blurted.

"Shishido-san," Ohtori said, reprovingly.

"What?" Shishido scowled. "It's true. He might have helped beat Oshitari and Gakuto, but it's a lot different facing power players like us. You saw how much trouble he had against Kabaji. He's only good as a cheerleader, anyway."

Eiji bristled, red spots striking out on his cheeks at the reminder of his single practice game against Hyoutei's giant. That big moron had driven him to distraction with his _'usu-usu-usu' _crap, not to mention the humiliating jumping contest they'd had. Reminding him of that match was a low blow. Calling him a girl was lower.

"Yeah?" Eiji sniffed at Shishido. "You're just mad that Ohtori-kun and I beat you in such an easy come-back. Have you _ever_ won a match without having to bank on your opponent forfeiting, Shishido-_san_? I'd be more worried about Ohtori-kun, than I would about _you_."

Ohtori blanched, sending a wide-eyed look at his now fuming partner. Shishido didn't react immediately. When he did, it was to give a slow, derogatory smirk at the redhaired Seigaku player.

"Come on, Choutarou," said Shishido, his eyes flicking away from the pair. "If we get matched with them, I'll make him eat his words."

Eiji snorted at the threat, but the gesture was ruined when Ohtori flashed him a regretful look. He winked at the gray-haired youth and made a face at Shishido's back. Of the two, Ohtori had a much better attitude, even if he were a little reserved. Once he stopped worrying so much, he was really fun to play with.

Shishido started off to meet Kabaji, with the intention of grabbing his and Ohtori's bags before they were buried under the lot. He paused partway and turned back. "Oi, Gakuto."

The redhead glanced over his shoulder. "What?"

"Seems Kikumaru had a lot of fun playing with Oshitari in that tournament," Shishido drawled. "You might want to keep an eye on your partner."

Gakuto whirled around and locked a blistering glare on Eiji. "You keep your beady eyes off Yuushi! Just because you got picked for the tournament doesn't mean shit. Your acrobatics are pathetic, and your fashion sense is – is…"

Eiji was caught between vehemently denying that he'd enjoyed being matched with Gakuto's partner, and getting angry at the insults being thrown at him for no reason. He blinked in surprise when Gakuto's rant trailed off before it had even gotten started. The Hyoutei player was staring at him as if he didn't know whether to laugh or be sick. Eiji had a sudden urge to look behind him.

"_Yuushi_," Gakuto whispered, in a choked little voice, his very wide. "Have you ever _seen_ such a putrid color…? My eyes are _burning_…"

Oshitari smoothly moved his hand over the redhead's eyes, blocking his view of Eiji's green jacket. He grinned down at the trembling player and gently turned him away. "Poor Gakuto. Don't look directly at it. I wouldn't want you to hurt your delicate eyes..."

After a strained moment, the trembling broke into semi-hysterical laughter and Gakuto half-leaned on his partner's arm for support. "It's just so – so…_awful_! I can't even insult him – I can't look _long enough_ to insult him...! I can't believe he'd w-wear that...that _thing_...!"

Eiji exploded and Oishi lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Eiji's waist and almost lifting him off the ground as he did his best to hold the struggling boy back. He was suddenly very aware of a growing silence on the yard, broken only by Eiji's growls and Gakuto's laughter. He was also aware of how difficult it was to restrain someone who squirmed and twisted like a rabid cat.

"_Let me **hit him**!_" Eiji growled through his clenched teeth. "_Please_, Oishi! Just once? My _mom_ bought me this coat – I _have_ to hit him! I don't wanna hurt _you_, Oishi, so just let me go hit him, _okay_? _Just_ _one hit?_ He's scrawny enough I only _need_ one…!"

Tezuka's voice cut through the pleas, or demands, as it were. "Oishi, take Kikumaru for a quick walk to cool off. Fuji, why don't you go with them."

"Can I go, too?" Jiroh asked, his eyes sparkling at Fuji.

"Of course," Fuji smiled. This time he did pat a hand on the boy's curly head, because he really reminded him of a puppy. He could almost see the fluffy tail wagging.

Tezuka turned a droll look on Atobe, who was still following him around with a smug expression. "I thought you had better control over your team than this."

"They're only being friendly," Atobe said smoothly, with a pleased, catlike smile. "No harm in that, Tezuka-kun."

"Yeah?" Momo blurted, having been drawn by the impending cat-fight sounds. His wide _'I'm looking at one heck of a train wreck'_ eyes were locked on Eiji. "You'll see harm, if he gets loose."

Eiji could be quite slippery when he wanted to be, though he waited till Tezuka was sufficiently distracted by the smirking Atobe. He ducked under Oishi's arm and darted right into Fuji, who promptly turned him back around with a sweet smile.

"Na, Eiji," Fuji murmured into his ear. "Wouldn't it be better to get him when he isn't expecting it and there are no witnesses? We'll be away from school for a month. I'm sure there will be ample opportunities for your revenge."

All hints of resistance melted away, and Eiji flashed a very wide and equally worrisome grin. Oishi, who hadn't actually heard Fuji's suggestion, but who knew that grin intimately, winced. He quickly put himself between Eiji and Fuji, hoping to avoid any really deviant ideas that might jump from the tensai to the mischief-maker. He was almost grateful to have Jiroh hopping alongside them. When he was awake, and even when he was asleep if he fell in a conspicuous place, the Hyoutei player had a way of drawing attention to himself and away from revenge plots.

They passed Kabaji on their way down the concrete steps that ran from the courts to the street below. The tall player had a dozen bags hanging from his arms, but he gave a blink to Jiroh, who waved happily at him. A large van was pulling away when they reached the street. Jiroh waved at that, too.

"So where are we walking to?" Jiroh asked, beaming at Fuji as if the other two didn't exist.

Oishi stopped and looked at the bottom steps. "We can probably just wait here for a while. Mostly Tezuka just wanted to defuse the situation. If we went too far, we might miss Rikkaidai, and the guide is supposed to meet us when we're all here."

Jiroh blinked and looked over at Oishi, as if he'd just noticed him there. "Rikkaidai? Is Marui-kun coming? Do you know? He'd have to, right? Atobe said he probably wasn't invited since he's not a real tensai, but I don't believe that. You don't believe it, either, do you, Fuji-kun? Marui-kun is _really_ cool, so he'll have to come. Right?"

"Saa," Fuji sighed, with a mysterious smile as if to say only time would tell. He watched as Jiroh sighed and sank to the steps, wilting until his eyelids sagged. Fuji shook his head and looked past the boy. "If you fall asleep now, you won't be able to greet him if he _does_ come."

"That's okay," said Jiroh, his gaze shifting over the sharp edges of the steps and wondering how many kinks he'd have if he fell asleep there. "I couldn't talk to him - I've _never_ talked to _him_. He's too cool. I want him to come so I can watch him play, that's all. He's my _idol_..."

The formerly happy boy turned wide, soulful eyes up on Fuji, looking just like a puppy whining for some show of affection. Fuji gave an almost involuntary smile. "I see."

"Mm. Just tell 'tobe where I am when you go back, ne? It's nice and quiet down here..."

Eiji eased close to Fuji and peaked over his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at the Hyoutei player, who appeared to have passed out in the most uncomfortable position possible on a set of cement steps. Jiroh was seated sideways, his legs curled on the sidewalk, his head pillowed in his arms on a higher step, the sharp edge digging into his ribs. If Eiji hadn't seen Jiroh sleep through half the matches Hyoutei had ever had, usually being carried in by Kabaji, he might have thought the boy was faking it.

"Now that's one _weird_ skill," said Eiji, tilting his head and looking from Fuji to Oishi. "Why do you think Atobe keeps him on the team? He's almost always sleeping."

Fuji answered with that same involuntary smile. "Because he's cute and harmless? His tennis is quite good when he's interested in the game. I wouldn't mind playing him again."

"Just be careful," Eiji said quickly, remembering what he'd overheard earlier. "He's still from Hyoutei. Maybe he's Atobe's secret weapon."

"No," said Fuji, with a careless smile. "That would be Hiyoshi, and he wasn't invited."

"I guess..."

Oishi sent a long look down the road, which was lit by streetlamps spread out so much that large patches of blackness remained. He glanced at his watch, at Jiroh, and then at Fuji and Eiji. "It won't be long now. I need to help Tezuka get our things ready. Do you think we should take Jiroh back with us?"

"I'll stay," said Fuji. "We can't go without Rikkaidai, and they're more likely to come by car now. If they were walking, they'd have been earlier than this."

"Me, too," Eiji said quickly, flashing Oishi an overly bright smile. "I wouldn't want to start another fight with the rat. I'll just stay down here with Fuji. You go on ahead."

Oishi's expression turned wary and he looked from Fuji to Eiji. The two of them alone when Eiji was bearing a grudge and Fuji was being mischievous? That was a recipe for disaster. He quickly racked his brain for an excuse to get Eiji to go with him. He was still trying to come up with something when headlights lit the street.

"Oh, good," Oishi sighed. Eiji pouted and looked at him suspiciously. He quickly flashed his partner a guileless smile. "That'll be Rikkaidai. See you guys on the court."

Eiji watched until Oishi disappeared up the steps. "I think he heard you earlier, Fuji. I'll have to plan my revenge when Oishi isn't expecting it, too. He'd just spoil it, otherwise."

"There'll be plenty of time later," Fuji assured him, his eyes opening to glint above his devious smile.

"Nya," Eiji grinned. "Remind me never to make you mad at me."

A large gray van pulled to a stop in front of them and they stepped to the side so the team would be able to pass them on their way to the court. Fuji's eyes remained open once he saw who was exiting the vehicle first. Any hint of a smile left his face, and he stared impassively at Kirihara.

"Great welcome," Kirihara muttered, rolling his eyes and making it a point not to look directly at Fuji. "So glad I got roped into this."

"Don't be such a grump, Akaya."

Kirihara sniffed and shot a sideways look at the cheerful teen. Marui Bunta, a third year member of Rikkaidai, had short messy cherry-colored hair and pale lavender eyes. He was carrying his tennis bag and a bulky leather sachet over one shoulder. The rest of his luggage he left in the van. He smirked at Kirihara's expression and popped a noisy bubble of apple-flavored gum in the boy's direction. Kirihara rolled his eyes and looked away again, grumping even more.

"You're not going to carry _any_ of this?" an exasperated voice called from the van.

Kuwahara Jackal, also a third year, was taller than his doubles partner. He had chocolate brown skin, dark gray-blue eyes, and a striking lack of hair. His bald head drew a lot of looks, but he wasn't the sort to care. At the moment he was dragging a pile of bags out of the van and sending light scowls in Marui's direction.

"You don't want to carry them all?" Marui asked, as if he were surprised. "I guess I can carry mine, then, if you really don't want to."

Jackal's eyebrow twitched. "Why would I want to carry your bags? I have enough with mine and Akaya's."

"Did I _tell_ you to carry mine?" Kirihara scowled as he shoved over to grab his bags. "I was just waiting for everyone to get out of the way first. Don't touch my stuff."

"He _is_ grumpy," Jackal blinked, exchanging a look with Marui. "Must be Fuji."

Fuji closed his eyes with a smile, and Kirihara scowled off to the side.

A slightly mocking voice commented from the van as the rest of the team got out. "And Kikumaru's here, too. Nice of you to come greet us."

Niou Masaharu was a tall third year player, with jagged and wild silver-gray hair that he wore pulled back into a tight three inch long braid at the nape of his neck. He had turquoise eyes and a naturally taunting smile. At the moment, that smile was aimed at Eiji, who didn't seem to appreciate it in the slightest.

"I'd hope there wouldn't be any hard feelings," he said. "Since we're all heading off on a trip together, and all."

Eiji shrugged and waved a hand at Fuji. "I'm going to see if the others need any help."

Niou blinked and for a quick second a frown flashed over his face. It was gone by the time Eiji disappeared up the steps, having taken them two at a time. "Huh."

"I don't think he likes you," his partner commented.

Yagyuu Hiroshi, another third year, was about the same height as his doubles partner. He had more of a tan, and his neatly combed short purplish-black hair gave him a sense of being the refined one of the two. He wore white oval glasses that usually reflected the light and hid his eyes from view. Often referred to as 'the gentleman', he acted the part. The first thing he did was nod politely to Fuji. Then he flashed a look at Niou, who was raising an eyebrow at him.

"He's probably holding a grudge," said Yagyuu. "We nearly broke their doubles game. That isn't something a person would forgive easily."

"Whatever," Niou waved. "I didn't see them holding back, so there's no reason I should feel guilty. That's what you do in a game. You win. Whether you have to break up the Golden Pair, or play without your partner, as long as you win, that's what counts. Right?"

Yagyuu looked for a moment, but there was no sign of resentment, just Niou's usual taunting smirk. "Ah."

Sanada exited the van and went to have a few words with the driver before he left. Yukimura crossed to Fuji with a pleased smile.

"I look forward to seeing you play," he said. "Sanada told me about your match with Akaya."

Fuji sent a veiled look at Kirihara, who bristled and made a sudden beeline for the steps. Whether it was his need to put more distance between them, or his annoyance at hearing the hint of gratitude in his captain's voice, Fuji couldn't tell. Either way, he reminded himself that Kirihara had given up his old style of tennis. He didn't have a reason to watch him that closely.

Fuji returned Yukimura's nod, his smile genuine this time. "Tezuka will be very surprised to see you. We didn't know you'd recovered already."

"I'm surprised Sadaharu didn't predict it."

Yanagi Renji stepped up to stand beside Yukimura, his seemingly closed eyes moving from his captain to Fuji. He had sepia brown hair in a straight bowl cut, with the bangs falling around his eyes. Like Fuji, he played with his eyes closed, only he'd never been seen with them open, even during serious matches. Although he had experience as a doubles player, he was commonly known as one of Rikkaidai's Magificent Three because of his singles game.

"Inui did predict it," Fuji smiled at Yanagi. "He just didn't have absolute proof, so he wouldn't state it as a certainty. We didn't know your entire team had been invited, either."

"Is that odd?" asked Sanada. "I heard Hyoutei had their entire team."

Fuji nodded and glanced over his shoulder at Jiroh. "Us, Hyoutei, and you. The other teams had four people at most, Rokkaku only had one."

"Oi," said Niou. "Is he really sleeping like that?"

He prodded the Hyoutei player with the toe of his shoe and arched an eyebrow. The only response he got was a sigh as Jiroh curled a bit more into the steps, seeming to melt around the hard edges. Niou stared for a moment before turning and raising both eyebrows at Jackal.

"That isn't natural," Jackal stated, tilting his head and staring at the curly-haired teen.

"No shit," Niou snorted. He grinned and prodded Jirou again.

"Really," sighed Yagyuu, shaking his head in disapproval. "Must you do that? He isn't hurting anything there."

"Looks painful, though, doesn't it?" Marui put in.

Yanagi frowned at the four doubles players and was glad Kirihara had gone on ahead. There were more than enough players to babysit without Akaya in the mix. Sanada seemed to agree. He frowned at Niou, his cap making his eyes look harder than they were.

"Leave him alone," said Sanada. "Atobe will retrieve him if he doesn't wake up."

"He mentioned that," Fuji nodded. "He said to let Atobe know where he is when we went back to the others."

"What?" asked Niou, frowning a little. "We just leave him here alone?"

"If that's what he wanted," said Yukimura. He frowned as well, looking from his teammates to Fuji. "Is this common?"

"As far as I know," Fuji smiled. "The only person I've seen wake him up is Kabaji, and that involved dropping him a few feet."

Niou laughed and shot his partner a taunting look. "And you thought _I_ was being mean."

"You were," Yagyuu returned evenly.

"We'll bring him up with us," Sanada said, ending any more discussion.

"He'll do it," Marui announced cheerfully, turning to point at Jackal.

"Oi," Jackal protested, distress pulling his face. "I thought you were going to stop volunteering me for things."

Marui blinked in surprise. "Don't worry, we'll carry your bags. What? You don't want to?"

"Why would I want to? He's not even on our team."

"So? He isn't any bigger than Akaya. He's cute, too. I bet he's a junior."

"He's a senior," Fuji corrected, his smile just a tad devious. "But he _is_ cute."

Marui grinned and laughed at Jackal's pinched expression. "See? Even Fuji thinks so. Go ahead."

Jackal turned to his captain and vice captain for support. He almost face-vaulted when he found them already halfway up the stairs, Yanagi right behind them. Niou was grinning at him, clearly not planning to help. And Yagyuu was reaching over to take his bags, as if he'd already agreed to Marui's plan. Jackal frowned at his partner and gave up.

"Do you need help?" asked Fuji, his tone ever so pleasant.

Marui cut him off by handing him one of Jackal's bags. "Yeah, thanks. These bags are heavy."

"He meant _me_," Jackal muttered, a tad sullen. No one paid him any attention.

Kirihara was waiting at the edge of the court, looking oddly comfortable a few feet from Akutsu. The other players were grouped by school now, each with his bags ready. Kirihara fell in behind Yanagi and followed the three across the court. Yukimura went straight to Tezuka, Sanada detouring to tell Atobe the location of his missing player.

Atobe reacted with vague annoyance that shifted into surprise when he spotted the rest of the Rikkaidai team. The sight of Jiroh being carried piggyback style by an eyebrow-twitching Jackal brought a slow smirk to the Hyoutei captain's face. Atobe turned that smirk on Sanada, even as he waved Kabaji to recover their errant teammate.

"Doing me favors now?" asked Atobe.

"No," Sanada frowned. "I don't know this area. It would have been unsafe to leave him alone at this hour. I thought you would watch your teammates better than that."

Atobe sniffed. "You don't know _Jiroh_. More importantly, is that your _captain_ I see talking to Tezuka? I didn't realize he was so...soft looking."

Sanada's eyes narrowed, but he didn't bother responding to that. "Yukimura wants to have a match against Tezuka."

"He'll have to get in line, then," Atobe said coldly.

"_Excuse me_," a voice called out, the English catching everyone's attention. "Sumimasen, des ka...?"

Remus Lupin, wizard and newly appointed professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, waved a hand at the students. His sudden appearance, and similarly sudden switch from English to Japanese, brought all eyes to him. He was of medium height, a little on the pale side, and in his late thirties. His hair was brown with premature graying which, along with the stress lines around his eyes, made him look older than he was. He was dressed in shabby tan robes that had definitely seen better days, and he was holding a narrow black wand in his right hand.

Sanada joined the rest of his team, and even Akutsu stood up to glare at the stranger.

"Hello," Lupin greeted in magically enabled Japanese. He moved to stand in the middle of the court closest to the building. "My name is Remus Lupin - that is...Lupin Remus, I think, last name first in Japanese culture...? Just call me Lupin. I'll be your escort. If you'll all move a little closer to the edge of the court - that's right, leaving that court open. Good. Now, then. Normally we'd use a port key for such a large group. I know most of you have no idea what I'm talking about, but explaining would take far too much time. Since none of you has been cleared to apparate, and a port key might prove too strange for muggles like yourselves, we'll be taking the Knight Bus.

"Normally it doesn't travel outside England - has some trouble crossing water, you see - but Dumbledore has taken care of that. What you're going to see is a large bus appearing on that court there, accompanied by a very loud popping noise. We're going to board the bus and take it to London. Once we're there, we'll transfer to train for the rest of the trip to Hogwarts. If you all remain calm, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have once we're underway."

A lot of glances were exchanged among the players, but no one spoke. Lupin was surprised until he remembered how old most of them were. He smiled and turned to face the empty court. Shaking back the sleeve of his robe, he held his wand hand out. A pop and a squeal of brakes later, the bus arrived. Unfortunately for the city officials, the bus burned long tread-marks right down the court, eating straight through to the cement beneath. Fortunately for Lupin, none of the tennis players panicked at the sight.

_**.-.  
**__**TBC  
**_

_Notes: _I warned that this part had lots of dialogue, right? I'll narrow it down in future parts, here I just wanted to get the entire collection of players together and follow them around a bit. A lot of the discussions were based on filler episodes, but the backstory with Sengoku and Saeki is mine. I needed Saeki to have a friend who isn't a Fuji, and Sengoku volunteered. The character focus in future parts will probably be more on my favorites unless I get attacked by some interesting plot bunnies. Expect more HP point-of-view in the future, but the main focus will stay on the PoT boys.

_Next up, the trip to Hogwarts, aka, lots of rivals in claustrophobic contact with each other and one very disturbed werewolf._ ;p


	3. Woes of the Chaperone I

**Author's Notes:** I'm not overly concerned about HP canon with this fic, so my depiction of the Knight bus, the train, the castle and such should be taken on face value. I'm debating on whether or not to put Japanese - English notes on each part, so if you have trouble with words let me know. Thanks go to _'Akira Nimura'_ for correcting me on the spelling of Seigaku and Kajimoto. I got the spellings for all the names off a single (very detailed and comprehensive) PoT website and didn't second guess them.

**_Character List: _**I have a simple webpage up with a list of the PoT characters, a picture of each, and pictures of the people each is paired with in this fic. If you've had trouble putting a face to a name, this should help. The url is below - copy and paste, and remove spaces.

www . geocities . com / pot9365 / index . html

**_Fanart:_** I have a fluffy cover-page pic up for the Sengoku-Kirihara pairing. A link to my deviantart page can be found on my ffnet profile.

**_Music Videos:_ **Golden Pair fans are encouraged to check out the new version of my _"You're the One"_ amv, a remake of one of my older vids, and much better than the original. Anyone who likes the OishixEiji pairing should enjoy this video. A link to my amv page can be found on my ffnet profile.

**_Main Pairings:_** OishixEiji, KamioxShinji, OshitarixGakuto, SanadaxYukimura

_Minor Pairings (for this part): _Momo-Ryoma, Mizuki-Yuuta, Fuji-Tezuka, Atobe-Yukimura, Sengoku-Kirihara, Kabaji-Akutsu, Niou-Yagyuu, Shishido-Ohtori

**_Warnings:_** shonen ai, dialogue, language, possible humor  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part 3: Woes of the Chaperone I_

It was no coincidence that Remus Lupin had been appointed professor this year, nor that he was the one sent to pick up the tennis players. A lot was happening in the wizarding world, and Dumbledore was adamant that they make the most of it. With everyone keeping an eye out for a certain mass murderer who'd escaped recently, no one had time to worry about a group of muggles providing entertainment for Hogwarts' student population.

In past years, when the Headmaster had forwarded his idea to the Ministry of Magic, he'd been deterred by a mound of paper work and quill-pushers with nothing better to do than to ask thousands of needless questions. This time, all he'd had to do was promise that the informal tournament would mollify worried parents while keeping the students occupied, and that all of the 'muggle' players had enough magical potential to have been students if there were a magical school in Japan. A little reminder of how the Ministry had repeatedly failed to establish an Asian branch was enough to get the plan waved into action. They had far more important things to worry about without getting sidetracked by one of Dumbledore's quirky ideas. That left the headmaster with full control, just the way he preferred it.

Lupin's presence was doubly useful, or so Dumbledore had assured him. He had intimate knowledge of the escaped criminal, making him a good defense to have on hand at the school. And he was proficient at dealing with dementors, which was particularly useful these days. The only drawback was that because of him they'd had to wait until after the full moon to invite the players. It meant the tournament itself would conclude a week after the scheduled trip to Hogsmead, instead of being a replacement _for_ the trip. Dumbledore seemed confident no one at the Ministry would notice or question this change in plans. Lupin had little choice but to take his word for it.

All of the reasons aside, Lupin found himself very interested in Dumbledore's idea, and in the players themselves. He'd never heard of muggle athletes catching the attention of wizards before. Only someone as eccentric as Dumbledore would have thought to invite a group of such athletes to Hogwarts as an introduction for the students to other 'types' of magic. Looking at the players, who mostly appeared old enough to have already graduated from Hogwarts, Lupin didn't see any sign of them being magically inclined.

They were definitely healthier looking than a lot of his own students, physically fit being the choice term. The older ones, some of whom he recognized from photos as being the captains, gave off an aura of confidence and experience. He did sense a tiny hint of _something_ coming from the ones Dumbledore had warned him about, the so-called _'tensai'_ players. But the majority of them looked like typical teenagers, curious, glowing with youth, and eager for adventure. Above all else, they looked like muggles. They even pushed and bickered like muggles when they clambered onto the bus, more interested in who got which seats than in the bus itself.

Lupin had replaced the Knight Bus's typical conductor, so he had a front row seat, just a bit behind the driver, and in clear view of the two rows of players. Ernie Prang, the usual driver, had cast one long stare at him the moment the muggles climbed on board. After that, he'd set his eyes forward and seemingly managed to block out the noise behind him. Lupin didn't push him to speak. Dumbledore had done some heavy-handed magic on the bus, and Ernie resented that. He'd been driving the Knight Bus for years and considered it his baby. Having it turned into a veritable port key, just to save a bunch of muggles from panicking, was a very deep insult.

Lupin had tried to explain that it was actually the bridge that would function as the port key, and that the bus was more like a bottle to stabilize the contents – passengers in this case – during the transfer. Although the magic was thick, the details were really very simple. A person who traveled using a port key felt significant discomfort and disorientation. But if that person were carrying, say, a bottle of water with a fish in it, the fish would feel very little due to the insulation. It was the bottle that would suffer the disturbance. None of this reasoning had soothed Ernie's ruffled pride. It was best to just let him alone and hope he didn't abandon them once they reached the bridge. Lupin had never driven a vehicle, magical or muggle, and he wasn't eager to try on something as difficult to manage as the Knight Bus.

By the time the players had stowed their bags on the upper level of the bus, and settled on who got to sit in which seat, Lupin found himself respecting the power of the team captains. Petty bickering subsided after a few sharp words, and there was absolute silence when Ernie started the bus into motion. Even the sight of buildings and scenery jumping to get out of the bus's way didn't cause the sort of panic Lupin had been prepared for. If anything, the teens seemed to resent the lurches and twisting movements more than the dynamics of how the bus traveled.

"Momo-senpai, _itai_," Echizen groaned for the third time in as many minutes.

He was sitting by the window on the left-hand side, third row back, with Momo next to him, and Dan Taichi on the outside. Every time the bus made a right turn, Momo lurched over and jammed him into the wall. He might have passed it off as an accident, except the big lug kept grinning at him. And the last time he'd shoved his teammate in retaliation, little Dan had gone right off the seat and into the aisle. Tachibana, who was on the outside of the seat across from them, had caught the Yamabuki boy before he could smash his head into the floor. Echizen had still gotten a reprimand from Tezuka for playing around.

To make matters worse, Eiji kept snickering from the seat in front of theirs. The redhead was on the aisle with Oishi next to him, and Saeki in the window seat. For some reason, Oishi never looked back in time to see Momo play _crush the freshman_, while Eiji had the exact timing down and had yet to miss it. Honestly, Echizen was beginning to wish he'd sat in the back with Kabaji and Akutsu. Not only would they not voluntarily touch him, they probably wouldn't try to talk to him, either.

Kabaji had gone back when he found no room for him near Atobe. Akutsu, of course, had purposely sat in the very back, putting as much distance as possible between him and the brown-haired wizard seated at the front of the bus. A less appealing choice of seating would be across the aisle from the silent players, where Shinjou and Wakato were once more looking out of place. Echizen wasn't sure, but he suspected they wouldn't have tried to talk to him any more than Kabaji. Either way, the back seats were beginning to look very attractive.

The bus took a quick curve as a line of apartment buildings failed to hop out of its way fast enough for the driver's impatience. Most of the bus's occupants lurched to the left.

"_Itai_," yelped Echizen.

"For god's sake, Momo," Kamio exclaimed from the seat behind them. "Can't you control yourself for five minutes? You're making that Yamabuki kid blush. Hell, you're making _me_ blush."

"I'm not blushing, desu," said Dan. He had his head ducked, his hands curled tightly on the back of the seat in front of him, and on the edge of his own seat. So far he'd kept his attention on not flying into the aisle again, and not getting tossed up against Momo, either. He was quite proud about that, considering how much trouble Momo seemed to be having. "I won't hit anyone, desu!"

Momo grinned at the boy and then flashed a scowl over the seat at Kamio. "It's not like I'm doing it on purpose."

"Liar," Echizen grumbled, rubbing his poor shoulder.

Eiji snickered for a second. Then he flashed an innocent smile at Oishi. So far his partner had no idea what was going on behind them. He planned to keep it that way.

"Well," Momo drawled, his purple eyes glinting on the three teens seated behind him, "would you rather I do what they're doing, Echizen? Kamio doesn't seem to mind it."

Echizen craned his neck and peaked into the seat behind them. Sengoku grinned from the aisle and waggled his fingers in greeting. His left arm was resting on the back of the seat, keeping him from sliding into Shinji. The blue-haired tensai didn't seem to appreciate the effort, judging from the way he was leaning forward a little to avoid so much as brushing that arm. Kamio, who'd picked the window seat before he knew Sengoku would be joining them, was sitting with his back against the window, only half in the seat. Shinji had braced his left hand on the window over Kamio's right shoulder to keep himself from lurching and crushing his teammate. Echizen stared at the interesting seating arrangement for a moment in silence. Then he whipped back around and slunk into his seat.

"Iya da," Echizen muttered. "I'm not sitting like that. You wouldn't brace yourself on the window. You'd just use it as an excuse to fall in my lap."

"O-oi," Momo blurted. What had been intended to embarrass Kamio now had a blush hitting _his_ cheeks instead.

"Unya," Eiji whispered from in front of them, his eyes wide and scandalized. "Don't tempt him, Ochibi! At least not in front of Taichi-kun…"

Oishi turned a warning look on his partner. "_Eiji_…"

Eiji promptly about-faced, his expression ever so innocent. "Yes? What is it, Oishi?"

Kamio snickered and shot a look at Shinji. "I tried to help, but we just gave them ideas."

"Pushy and a pervert," Shinji muttered softly, scowling at the back of Momo's head where the boy's blush had turned his ears faintly pink. "Taking advantage of this rough bus ride like that. He's as bad as some other people..."

He turned his scowl on Sengoku, eliciting a wide shameless grin from the Yamabuki teen. The guy had insisted on sitting with them and sure enough, he'd knocked him right into Kamio the first sharp turn the bus took. Now they were stuck with him, and frankly, the seating arrangement was uncomfortable. His arm was sore from bracing himself, and Sengoku refused to move his own arm so he couldn't even lean back in the seat. Shinji could only think of one reason for the stubbornness. The orange-haired player was still mad that he hadn't let Kamio sit in the middle.

"You can move your arm, you know," Shinji muttered. "I'm not going to fall anymore, so it doesn't matter if you bump into me now. You said you were being considerate, but it's not considerate to make this ride more uncomfortable than it should be. I don't care if you hit me as long as it's an accident. I only complained because you made me hit Kamio, and the wall is too hard for that. I'd rather you hit me than take the back of the seat. The seats fit three people, so I should be able to lean back without you taking my third. And you're taking part of Kamio's, too. Are you trying to reach him or something? He isn't sitting far enough back for that, so you're just wasting your time. You should go sit with that pushy pervert and let Echizen sit here. That way no one gets crushed and uncomfortable."

Echizen whipped back around before Sengoku could respond. "I like that idea."

"I don't," Momo said, scowling at his teammate. "I don't want to sit with _him_. I don't know which of them he's trying to grope, but he's definitely up to something with that arm of his."

"Don't be mean, Omoshiroi-kun," Sengoku pouted. "I'm just being considerate."

"But it's _not_ considerate," Shinji repeated, frowning more than ever. "I don't want your arm behind me. It's rude. If Echizen wants to sit here, you should trade with him."

"I don't want to _sit_ with him," Momo said, louder this time, and glaring at Shinji. "If you didn't want to sit with him, either, you should have picked a different seat before we left. Now you can just deal with it."

"Oi," Kamio scowled. "Don't yell at _him_. You're the one who started it, jumping all over the kid like that. Echizen doesn't want to sit with you any more than you want to sit with Sengoku."

"You know," Sengoku said slowly, his expression just a tad miffed, "I'm feeling very unwanted here…"

"That's because you are," said Shinji, his tone absolutely reasonable.

"Oi…" Sengoku winced and pouted a little. Then he leaned over and blinked wide turquoise eyes at Shinji. "Tell you what, Ibu-kun. I'll move my arm, and you stop trying to get me to switch seats. Deal?"

Shinji frowned and leaned further away. "I'd rather have Echizen."

"Well you can't _have_ Echizen," Momo yelled. "You get _him_! Deal with it!"

"Stop _yelling_ at him!" Kamio yelled back. "He's a foot away, moron!"

"_Kamio_," Tachibana barked.

Kamio eased up a few inches so he could see over the back of Momo's seat. He'd forgotten how close the quarters were in the bus. Tachibana and Ishida were seated right across the aisle from Momo, more than close enough for him to see the vein throbbing in his captain's temple. Kamio quickly dropped back into his seat and out of sight.

"_Momoshiro_," Tezuka said coldly.

Momo cringed, his ears flushing beet red as he slowly turned around to face the front again. Tezuka was seated against the window in the front right-hand seat, separated from the aisle by Fuji and Kawamura. But that wasn't nearly enough space when his captain used that tone. If they'd been at practice, Momo knew he'd have just been assigned a few hundred laps. He slunk down until his knees were bunched against the back of the seat in front of him, barely getting low enough that Tezuka couldn't see him anymore. Beside him, Echizen was scowling beneath the bill of his cap.

"Good going, Momo-senpai," Echizen muttered. "There's no way I'll get to switch seats now."

"I don't see why you'd want to, anyway," Momo grumbled, his expression a mix between a pout and a scowl. "Unless you just want to go falling all over Shinji."

Echizen bit back his instinctive retort, his scowl shifting slowly into a sly smirk. "Oh. I get it. Mada mada, Momo-senpai."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not telling," Echizen sniffed.

"Echizen...!"

"Iya da."

Oishi turned a disapproving look back on them. "Whatever you two are doing back there, stop it. You could learn something from Taichi-kun's good behavior."

"Thank you, senpai!" Dan beamed, fluffing a little at the compliment.

Momo glowered over at the Yamabuki boy, while Echizen just snorted and locked his gaze on the dark blurred scenery outside the window. Riding the bus was like taking a very long trip on some virtual reality roller coaster, only it was too dark to see what they were going past and there were no protective restraints holding them in place. If he hadn't had a freshman-crushing lug beside him, he could have dozed off out of sheer boredom. It really made him wish he could have stayed on the upper level with Karupin and their luggage, where everything was carefully strapped down and quiet.

At the front of the bus, Tezuka was giving Lupin a semi-formal nod of apology for the disturbance. He would have had an easier time looking contrite without Fuji laughing beside him. He didn't know whether it was the wizard's expression or Momo's outburst that the tensai found so amusing, but Fuji definitely seemed to be enjoying himself. If the ride hadn't been so bumpy, Tezuka would happily have traded Fuji off for Momoshiro – putting the one out of teasing range, and the other where he could watch him better. He should have known Oishi wouldn't be able to keep Momo and Echizen from starting something, especially with the two Fudomine players seated right behind them. He'd hoped having the obedient, if overly enthusiastic, Dan Taichi sitting next to them would rub off on the two of them, but that obviously wasn't the case.

"Don't scowl so much, Tezuka," Fuji murmured. "It's good that Momo is so protective of his kouhai. We wouldn't want Echizen stolen away by Fudomine."

"It's more like possessive," Mizuki drawled from across the aisle, amusement dripping off his tone. "It seems no one in Seigaku likes to share."

Fuji made a show of arranging his grip on the bar that ran in front of his seat, as if he were suddenly concerned about sliding and inconveniencing Kawamura. He flashed a smile when a light brush of fingers had Tezuka moving his own hands further to the right. His captain sent him a _look_.

Lupin, who still wasn't quite sure what he'd missed, glanced from Tezuka, over to the St. Rudolph players seated in the front of the left row. The dark-haired teen who'd spoken was sitting in the middle, leaning forward a little and scowling over at Segaku's tensai. On the aisle, their redhaired captain appeared to be asleep, though the tight hand he'd closed over the bar that separated them from the driver suggested otherwise. Only the freshman seated by the window met his gaze.

"Is the ride always this bumpy?" asked Yuuta.

As if on cue, the bus twisted to the right again. A muffled, and now very familiar, yelp sounded from three seats back. Mizuki, who hadn't had a very tight grip on the bar in front of him, almost knocked both himself and Yuuta out of the seat. Mizuki flashed a resentful look at the back of the driver's head.

"Nice reaction time, Yuuta-kun," Mizuki said quickly, his expression smoothing into an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

Yuuta flushed and quickly let go of Mizuki's arms. "It's okay – I mean - you're welcome, Mizuki-san."

Saeki leaned forward from the seat behind them, inadvertently making the two teammates separate further. "What about it, Lupin-san? This is one wild ride, and the rest of us don't even have a bar to hold onto."

Lupin sent one wary glance at the driver, taking in Ernie's narrow eyes and locked jaw. He didn't think the man had performed a charm before he arrived, so he probably couldn't understand what the Japanese teens were saying. But there was no way of knowing for certain without asking him. Lupin winced a little and flashed Saeki an apologetic look.

"The Knight Bus has never been driven in Japan before," said Lupin, "so all of the magic is spot-work being set up as we go along. The ride will be much smoother in London, on routes that get regular traffic. Also, the number of people riding at one time is usually closer to ten, so there's less worry about a little jostling. I could modify the seats with bars or ties of some sort, if you think that would help."

Saeki blinked and exchanged a wary look with Oishi. "Ties? Like what?"

"I'm not sure," Lupin admitted, smiling weakly. "The front bars were actually meant to separate the driver and conductor from the passengers. Normally they function as a shield for miscellaneous items and spells that might go astray. We had that charm removed for your trip. I only have a faint idea of the sort of restraints used in normal muggle conveyances. You're speaking of something to wrap around you and hold you in the seat, correct?"

Saeki suddenly imagined the seat mutating behind him, tentacle-like extensions reaching out and binding him, like plastic-wrap, into the seat. His face paled and he abruptly sat back.

"Nevermind," Saeki said quickly. "Forget I said anything. A little…jostling…never hurt anyone, right? It's fine."

"I wouldn't be so quick to turn down the offer," Fuji commented, his eyes easing open to glint over at Seaki. "Restraints would certainly keep _some_ people from getting into trouble." His sharp gaze flicked to a certain black-haired manager.

Saeki grinned at the back of Mizuki's head and muffled a laugh in his hand. Lupin blinked and glanced quickly from Saeki, over to the somewhat scary looking Fuji, and back to Mizuki, whose eyebrow was twitching. Yuuta scowled and leaned harder into his seat so there was no chance of his brother seeing him past his teammates.

"Like I said," Mizuki drawled, his forced smile almost twitching in time with his eyebrow, "Seigaku players are possessive, even of people who are _not_ on their team..."

Fuji's eyes closed in a curious smile, which he turned on the silent Kawamura. "Na, Taka-san, do you hear something squeaking? I hope nothing has gotten loose above us."

Kawamura flashed a harried look from Mizuki, over to Fuji, who was now glancing at the ceiling with a worried expression. "Ano…"

"Fuji," said Tezuka, his entire demeanor reproving.

"Yes?" Fuji smiled, leaning closer to the taller teen and enjoying the wary tint that appeared on his captain's face. "Is something wrong, Tezuka? You're still scowling. Echizen isn't being molested at the moment, so surely you can relax a _little_."

A choked sound erupted from the freshman in question, and Tezuka's face took on an interesting amber shade. Now _his_ eyebrow was twitching. "_Fuji_…"

"Really," Fuji said sweetly, rubbing a soothing hand on Tezuka's shoulder. "Your concern for our dear freshman is very commendable, but you shouldn't get so tense about it."

Echizen half-stood in his seat so he could scowl over at the tensai. "Fuji-_senpai_. If you want to flirt with buchou, leave me out of it."

"Really," Eiji piped in with a wide grin. "Ochibi already has his hands full keeping Momo off him!"

Fuji laughed, Momo erupted in a coughing fit, and Oishi flushed dark red.

"_Eiji…!_" hissed Oishi.

"What?" asked Eiji. "What'd I say?"

"_Tezuka?_" Fuji murmured, in a little concerned voice. "Are you all right? You don't look well…"

Lupin stared at the tensai, his expression dazed and uncertain. That _'something'_ he'd sensed from the boy was now a genuine sensation – skill and danger. How he could sense skill from someone, he didn't know, and why someone skilled at teasing would be a danger, he couldn't say. He could only hope the hints and suggestions being passed around by the teens were merely playful barbs. He'd heard much worse things from middle-aged wizards after a few too many drinks. Hearing it from children, though…

A low chuckle started from the seat directly behind Tezuka, echoed by snickers here and there from the Hyoutei players scattered along the length of the bus. Tezuka slowly forced himself to relax, uncurling his hands from where they were clenched around the bar to keep himself from doing some sort of bodily harm to the smiling tensai seated next to him.

"I take back what I said," Atobe drawled with a sly smile. "This _is_ a good seating arrangement."

The Hyoutei captain had been quite annoyed when Fuji and Kawamura had taken the seat Tezuka was in. Now, sitting directly behind Tezuka, he was in the perfect position to enjoy his rival's discomfort, and to appreciate the tensai's skill. He'd had no idea Fuji Syusuke was this interesting. Not only did he have Tezuka fuming, even Yukimura was stifling a smile at the Seigaku player's antics.

"Can I offer you an aspirin, Tezuka?" Yukimura whispered, as if Sanada and Atobe wouldn't overhear him, anyway. "You do look a little pale."

"No, thank you," Tezuka returned in a droll voice. He ventured a sidelong look at Fuji and his eyebrow twitched. It was immoral for someone so sadistic to have such a cute smile.

Fuji turned a little so he could direct that innocent smile at Yukimura. "Do you always carry aspirin with you?"

"It pays to be prepared," said Yukimura, with an almost impish smile. "You never know when the team will become a little...rowdy. Sanada seems especially prone to headaches these days. I can't imagine why."

"Interesting," Atobe remarked softly.

His gaze flicked past Yukimura and locked on Sanada, who was staring rigidly ahead, his cap shading his eyes. Rikkaidai's vice captain had sent him a single scowl when he'd sat down but hadn't said one word since boarding the bus. Atobe had made some effort to provoke a response. He'd put an arm over the back of their seat for the double purpose of keeping him from sliding in an undignified manner, and assuming a familiarity with Yukimura that he'd been sure would rile Sanada. The only reaction his move had gotten was a slight tightening of Sanada's jaw. Atobe found it nearly as intriguing as Yukimura's seeming willingness to have a stranger's arm behind him.

"Is it a recent development?" Atobe asked Yukimura, his silky tone far more familiar than was appropriate. One benefit of having such a deep voice was that it sounded rather like a purr when he made soft inquiries. Atobe was quite smug about that, and rightfully so. "He does seem more stoic than he was during the tournament. I hadn't even thought that possible."

"Ah," sighed Yukimura. "I think I stress him out more than being captain during my absence did..."

"Surely not," Atobe drawled. "I can't imagine anyone finding your company stressful, Yukimura-kun."

Tezuka turned in his seat, a dumbfounded look on his face. Did Atobe really plan to start stalking Yukimura now?

Fuji smiled beside him, and Tezuka quickly turned to face the front again. The last thing he wanted was to make Fuji think he was jealous. He simply couldn't get past the new level of gall Atobe appeared to have attained. Atobe would be lucky if Sanada didn't kill him, not to mention the rest of Rikkaidai. Everyone knew how dedicated the team was to their formerly incapacitated captain. Where Fudomine was a pack of wolves when their leader was threatened, Rikkaidai was a pride of lions capable of ripping their enemies to shreds. Tezuka could already imagine it. Kirihara and Sanada versus Atobe - it would be a bloodbath. Which, now that Tezuka stopped to think about it, might not be such a bad thing.

Tezuka gave a slow smile that was only really visible around his eyes. Fuji actually blinked when he saw it. Tezuka didn't explain. He just handed the tensai a small bag of chips he'd confiscated from him at the beginning of their ride. His teammate gave him a wary, wide-eyed, look and didn't even try to offer him some of the disgusting snack. That showed exactly how startled Fuji was. It made the smile spread from Tezuka's eyes to his mouth. Fuji stared.

Very aware of Sanada's tense arm next to him, Yukimura flashed Atobe a warm smile that belied the playful glitter in his eyes. "You can call me Seiichi, Atobe-kun."

Atobe's eyes widened and a rare look of unguarded surprise took over his face. He barely managed to hide it when Sanada turned to glare at him.

"No, he _can't_," Sanada snapped.

"Sanada," Yukimura said softly, as if he were surprised by his teammate's reaction. "Don't be rude..."

Always suave, Atobe recovered very quickly, spurred by the open challenge in Sanada's dark glare. He let his quickly-made smirk ease into a more natural, and doubly smug, smile.

He'd been unsure what to make of Sanada since their interrupted match before the tournament. Even playing together, and finding that they were similar enough to follow the same rhythm, hadn't told him why he was so inspired to defeat the Rikkaidai player. Atobe was confident that of the two of them, Tezuka was more worried about him than Sanada. And still, he felt compelled to crush Sanada before taking his rightful position as Tezuka's ultimate rival. With that mindset, being given such a blatant opening to crack Sanada's defenses was like waving a cake in front of Marui.

It didn't hurt that Yukimura was the one who'd given him that opening. If there was any truth to the rumors Atobe had heard, he might very well have to defeat Yukimura when he was finished with Sanada. He had an idea that would prove to be a very interesting match.

Atobe met Sanada's threatening stare with a lazy smile. "I'm not bothered by his rudeness..._Seiichi-_kun."

Yukimura smiled at him again, and this time they both had that playful glitter in their eyes. Sanada twitched.

"Don't call him that," Sanada ground out, still speaking past Yukimura without actually looking at him.

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Atobe. "As long as _Seiichi_ doesn't mind..."

"Really," said Yukimura, his tone placating. He placed a light hand over one of Sanada's curled fists and pretended not to notice how the taller teen froze at the contact. "It _is _my name, after all. Atobe-kun isn't on our team, so it isn't a matter of disrespect if he wants to address me by my first name. You shouldn't be so unyielding about something so insignificant. Ne?"

Sanada turned his eyes forward once more, his tone low and a tad resentful. "You didn't offer your first name to Tezuka."

"Well, no," Yukimura admitted softly, smiling as he glanced at the back of Tezuka's head. "He's never been your dance partner."

Sanada's head tilted forward, his eyes closing in a tight grimace. "I'm going to _kill_ Akaya..."

Yukimura didn't seem worried about the imminent death of his favorite kouhai. He turned a curious, teasing, smile on Atobe, who appeared to be as irked by the 'dance' reference as Sanada was.

"No one would let me watch the tape of your doubles match in the tournament," Yukimura said to Atobe, with a wistful sigh. "But Akaya tells me you and Sanada made quite the pair, with choreography that would be the envy of any professional dancer. I knew he was graceful with a sword, but I had no idea he could _dance_. Was it fun...?"

Sanada and Atobe looked away from each other with identical scowls, their denials sounding at the same time. "_No_."

Yukimura smiled and smothered a small laugh-like cough behind his hand.

At the front of the bus, Fuji had given up trying to decipher Tezuka's unexpected smile. He was snacking on the small bag of interestingly flavored chips Eiji had given him when they boarded the bus. He'd offered to share with Tezuka earlier, which was what had gotten the bag confiscated. Since the chips did have a rather unique flavor, and he was a tiny bit wary at Tezuka's unusually good mood, he didn't make any attempt to push the snack onto anyone else.

"Are you sure it's all right for me to eat on the bus?" Fuji asked Lupin.

"It's fine," Lupin nodded. "Normally the Knight Bus has accommodations for long trips, including semi-private beds in the back. We had to do quite a bit of remodeling for your group. I think Dumbledore used a muggle school bus as the model, though I could be wrong."

"No, that sounds right," said Fuji. "The seats are very similar to public transportation. Though the speed is different. Does he always drive this fast?"

Lupin didn't glance at Ernie, but he did wince a little and tighten his grip on the edges of his seat. So far the really rough turns seemed to coincide with players saying things where the driver could hear them. Even if Ernie didn't understand the words, he seemed to dislike the sound of them.

"It could go a little slower," said Lupin, "but we're hoping to get you to Hogwarts in time for the evening gathering. The time change may cause some sluggishness, so you'll all be able to rest afterward."

"And we're going to drive over water?" Fuji inquired, with a playful smile.

Lupin gave a somewhat weak smile in return. "Not exactly. We'll be jumping in about...a half hour. A...transfer of sorts. It will take us from here to London in a matter of seconds."

"Magic," said Fuji. His tone made it clear that while he found the idea amusing, he was open-minded enough to believe in almost anything - just as long as it didn't involve owls and letters.

"That's right," Lupin nodded. "It shouldn't be too disorienting, though. If all goes well, you won't feel more than a slight tremor, possibly a bit of headiness or motion sickness."

A very soft grumbling sound caught Lupin's ear. He glanced over in time to catch Ernie muttering to himself. The warning was early enough that he stayed in his seat when the bus jerked, the left wheels skidding over a curb that had stubbornly resisted the magic telling it to get the hell out of the way, and then the right wheels actually lifting off the ground when the bus made its turn. For the first time, Lupin wondered if the difficulty of the ride was due to Ernie's resentment, or to the area itself. He'd never considered that some places in Japan might be resistant to magic, but that curb had definitely refused the order to move, and the buildings shifted notably slower than the ones in England.

The conflicting bumps jolted nearly everyone, save the ones in front, who had tight grips on the bars, and Momo, who had his knees wedged against the seat tightly enough to provide an anchor for both Echizen and Dan.

Sengoku, who'd taken his arm off the back of the seat to placate Shinji, scrambled to keep from being thrown into the aisle. Then he leaned _toward_ the aisle as everything on the bus seemed to tilt to the left. Beside him, Shinji's bracing arm gave out and the two Fudomine players wound up on the floor, crowded in the slight space between seats.

In the seat behind theirs, Oshitari and Gakuto were among the few who were little affected by the upheaval. At the first sign of a shake, Gakuto had latched onto his partner. Oshitari reacted by wrapping one arm over the back of their seat to keep him lodged by the window, and the other around the slight boy's waist. Aside from Oshitari's right hand getting hit by someone in the seat behind them, neither suffered from the sudden shakes.

Jackal had been really good about not complaining when Marui knocked into him during the ride. They couldn't help the jolts, after all, and he did have the window seat. He was also the undeniably stronger of the two. He'd stabilized himself by the window in what he thought would be the best position to buffer Marui when the boy was tossed into him. He hadn't been expecting to be thrown to the right, let alone to be thrown to the right and then back to the left. The first jolt tossed him forward, his elbow striking Oshitari's hand as he twisted to keep from knocking Marui into the aisle. But the second jolt had him falling back awkwardly. He ended up on the floor, one leg caught on the seat, the other bunched beneath him. A few dazed minutes passed before he realized his partner had wound up in the aisle after all.

In the back left-hand seat, Shinjou and Wakato were two more of the less battered occupants. Wakato retained a sore shoulder from getting tossed against the window, but Shinjou's tight grip on the seat kept him from getting thrown much at all. If it hadn't been for Kabaji bumping into him, he wouldn't have raised so much as an eyebrow over the rough ride.

Kabaji hadn't reacted much to the previous shakes. He'd blinked a little the first time Akutsu slid against him, but he wasn't the sort to question someone who scowled like the Yamabuki player did. He'd simply accepted his role as a barrier to keep the gray-haired teen from flying into the aisle. This particular jolt caught him off guard because he was the one who fell into Akutsu. The angry boy reacted by shoving him away with a growl, just as the bus tilted to the left. Kabaji didn't stop to think. He caught Akutsu's arms in an attempt to right his balance. Instead he ended up pulling both out of the seat.

In the seat in front of Kabaji, Shishido had reacted in a somewhat selfish manner. His first thought was that he was in the middle, so he wouldn't get crushed or knocked out of the seat. At most, he put an arm out so he wouldn't hurt Ohtori, who was seated by the window. His partner was far more team-oriented. Ohtori caught Shishido when the bus tilted to the left and pulled him away from the aisle. Neither of them remembered to catch the sleeping boy who'd been sitting on the outside of their seat. Jiroh joined the pile-up growing in the aisle.

In the seat across from Oshitari, Yanagi, Inui and Kaidoh were suddenly very glad Lupin had found a makeshift cage when they'd stored their belongings. Having to hold a cat would have made their impromptu reactions more difficult. On the aisle, Yanagi braced himself to absorb any impact that might come his way. Inui caught hold of the seat in front of them, his other hand moving to Kaidoh's shoulder to keep the younger player from sliding and upsetting either him or Yanagi. Aside from Kaidoh glowering with resentment at having to be held in place like a loose piece of furniture, the three weathered the shakes without incident.

Ahead of them, Yanagi's teammates weren't nearly so organized. In the middle, Niou fell into Yagyuu, lodging his partner up against the window. Then he tried to stay himself the same way Kabaji had, by grabbing Yagyuu's arm and hoping the boy was secure enough to hold them both in place. The left-hand tilt pulled both toward the aisle, Niou knocking into Kirihara and pushing the black-haired boy right out of the seat. Neither of the doubles players noticed this, because they were occupied with the...interesting...position they'd wound up in.

At the front of the bus, Lupin was in a state of mild shock. There were four or five teenagers in the aisle, others groaning or yelling about the way the tilting had tossed them into each other. All he could think was that Dumbledore would never entrust him with a chaperone role ever again. He'd be lucky if none of them were hurt because a lot of them were visibly - and loudly - pissed off. And the things some of them were saying...

"Get off me!" Akutsu yelled, shoving furiously at Kabaji. For all his strength, there was a notable difference in weight, and the Hyoutei player was being way too slow about removing himself. Kabaji shifted a bit and Akutsu's face flamed a furious red. "_Where do you think you're touching, you freak!_"

"Akutsu-senpai!" Dan cried, forgetting for the moment that he wasn't supposed to call him senpai anymore.

"Lucky!" Sengoku laughed, hugging the boy who'd been tossed across the aisle and right into his arms. "That worked out great...!"

"W-what are you doing?" Kirihara demanded, his cheeks bright red. He pushed against Sengoku's chest and scrambled to get off him. Somehow he'd wound up half on the floor and half in the Yamabuki player's lap.

"Easy there," Sengoku grinned. "If you keep moving your arm like that I'm going to think you _really_ like me."

"Jackal!" Marui accused, pushing himself off the floor so he could glare at his somewhat upside-down partner. "What did you kick me for? And you, are you okay? That'll teach you not to sleep on a bus, ne?"

"I...I..." Jiroh stared with wide, horrified, eyes, his body frozen with shock and the abrupt rough awakening. He had no idea where he was. His first thought was that he was in the middle of a hallucination, which sometimes happened if he woke up too fast. He was lying across the lap of none other than Marui Bunta, who appeared to be talking right to him. Jiroh blinked twice and seriously considered hyperventilating till he passed out again.

"If he's injured he won't be able to play anymore and it'll be all my fault," Shinji was mumbling to himself, dazed and almost unaware of the fact that he was still on the floor. "I didn't mean to. I wouldn't do something like that on purpose, especially not to my own teammate. I'm not like that pushy pervert who actually likes hurting his friends. My hand was a little numb and I lost my grip when the bus tilted to the right. I slipped. It was an accident, not that it'll make any difference if he's injured..."

"Will you stop it?" Kamio sighed, tugging on Shinji's arm and trying to pull the boy back into the seat. "I said I was fine. You're not even heavy enough to hurt me. When's the last time you ate, anyway? I think you've lost weight since getting that cat. Damn Momoshiro..."

"My head..." Jackal groaned, kicking his foot and trying to right himself without much success. "Where the hell did Marui go...?"

"E-Eiji," Oishi murmured, his face a pretty pink. "You can let go now..."

"Unya," Eiji pouted, not so much as loosening the hold he had on his partner. "We might get tossed again and I don't want to end up on the floor with _them_. Did you see what that Kabaji is doing to _Akutsu_? No way I'm getting thrown over there with them, no _way!_"

"Let go of him _now_," Sanada growled down at Atobe. He'd caught Yukimura during the confusion, but Atobe's supposedly secure hold on the back of their seat had fallen. The Hyoutei captain's arm was now curled over Yukimura's shoulders, the owner of that arm pressed snuggly against the blue-haired boy's side.

"He's not hurting me," Yukimura started, though the teasing note was missing from his voice.

"That's not the point," Sanada glared. "_Atobe_...you have two seconds..."

"What a tone," Atobe sniffed, removing his arm and straightening his somewhat rumpled clothing. "You'd think I did it on purpose. Take my word for it, _Sanada_. If I wanted to snuggle with someone, I'd use a little more finesse than _that_."

"This seat is actually pretty comfortable," Niou said cheerfully. "But you know, I never thought _you'd_ end up on top."

"Would you care to remove your arm from my waist so I can get up?" Yagyuu returned calmly, as if he weren't lying on top of his partner in a seemingly embarrassing position.

"Definitely a gentleman," Niou grinned. "But don't tell me you have trouble getting up. That kills the _mood_..."

"What are you two _doing_?" Kirihara demanded, twisting around to stare at his teammates. "Get this womanizing freak to let go of me! He thinks I'm a _girl_...!"

"I do not," Sengoku said, his tone a bit insulted. "I'm not a womanizer, either. What's so wrong about flirting now and then?"

"We're not having a conversation here!" Kirihara blurted. "Let go!"

"Okay," sighed Sengoku, "but I think we'd have more fun if I didn't."

"If you even _look at me_, I'll rip your throat out," Akutsu growled. He shoved past a dazed looking Kabaji and resumed his seat. "You can sit with those Jyousei losers."

"Oi!" Wakato growled, "watch your mouth!"

"Shut up or you're next," Akutsu warned, his glare deadlier than ever.

"Oi, Jackal," Marui called, blinking down at his partner. "Are you going to get up or what? At least move your leg. You're taking up the whole seat and you're not even sitting on it."

"Is he sitting with us?" asked Jackal. He finally extricated himself, rather painfully, from the weird position he'd landed in.

"Why not," shrugged Marui. "I think he's sleeping with his eyes open, anyway."

"Shishido-san...?" Ohtori murmured, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Ano...Shishido-san. Rikkaidai took Jiroh..."

"We can get him back later," Shishido sniffed, not bothering to move the arm he'd wrapped over his partner's shoulders. "Kabaji should have been the one watching him, anyway."

"I'm not a table, Inui-senpai."

"W-what are you talking about?" Inui blinked, a faint smile making it to his face.

Kaidoh scowled down at the hand his senpai still had on his shoulder, pressing him against the window. "I'm not a table," he repeated, "and this isn't a ship. I'm not going to slide anywhere, so you don't have to hold me still."

"Interesting way to put it," Yanagi commented. "And quite right. Or is there another reason you're still holding him, Sadaharu...?"

Inui blinked behind his glasses and flashed a worrisome smirk at his childhood friend. "Trying to get data on me, Renji?"

"Always," said Yanagi. "But at the moment I'm just noting that you still haven't removed your hand."

"Oh. Sorry about that, Kaidoh." If Inui hadn't been wearing an evil scientist grin, he might have actually been believable.

"Move it," Kirihara growled, shoving Niou's head to the side so he could sit down. He didn't even try to figure out why the two boys hadn't gotten up yet, or why Niou was laughing. All that mattered to him was that he'd just been felt up by a rival player, one he'd been sure was as girl-crazy as they got. He didn't know whether to blush and feel violated or to start plotting a very painful revenge.

Yanagi leaned forward to look Kirihara over. "How was it, Akaya?"

"What?"

"He didn't kiss you?" Yanagi asked with a light frown.

Kirihara's face flamed in a mix of embarrassment and outrage. "Why the hell would he - that..."

He stared for a long moment, taking in his teammate's expression. Then he exploded in absolute horror. "_Yanagi! _You...you set me up! That's why you made me sit on the outside...! I'm gonna kill you. I am _absolutely_ going to kill you..."

"I'll take that as a no," said Yanagi, with a poker face that neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. "Maybe next time."

Beside him, Inui was taking notes in the notebook he kept specially for information on Yanagi Renji. "Good data..."

"So," Momo drawled, staring back at Sengoku with his eyebrow raised. "Got a thing for psychos, do you?"

Sengoku blinked wide turquoise eyes. "Psychos? You mean Kiri-kun? He's not psycho, he's just misunderstood..."

Kirihara stiffened at the nickname and shot a horrified look across the aisle. "What did he call me...?"

"Kiri-kun," said Inui, who was now taking notes in a general 'rivals' notebook.

"Cute name," said Yanagi. "But perhaps you should have him call you Akaya, instead. I don't think he'd mind switching."

"Stop playing around and enjoy living while you have the chance," Kirihara growled at Yanagi. He whipped back around and glared icily at the back of the seat in front of him, muttering softly under his breath. "Yanagi's lost it...I'd be doing everyone a favor by killing him...damnit...Sanada would kill me, though...and Yukimura would kick me off the team...can't kill him...I'll just have to make him wish I had...yeah...how to do it though..."

"Akaya just went over the edge," Niou remarked, smirking at his partner, who was once more seated calmly by the window. "I bet it was a short trip."

"Ne, Yuushi," Gakuto yawned, curling his legs beside him on the seat. "You mind if I nap on you?"

"Not at all," said Oshitari. "I'll wake you when we get there."

"Mm, sounds good..."

"Are you sure they're all right back there?" Lupin asked for the fifth time. His expression was still dazed, a bit pinched, and more than a little shocked.

"My team is," said Tezuka.

Akazawa glanced over at the two teens sitting beside him and went back to feigning sleep. Aside from Yuuta looking ready to doze off, his teammates were unaffected.

"Naturally my teammates are fine," said Atobe. His tone was just shy of the normal overbearing confidence. He hadn't yet decided if he liked where Jiroh was sitting, and he definitely hadn't liked the intensely disturbing scene Kabaji had taken part in. But aside from them, his team was all accounted for.

"Nothing to worry too much about," Yukimura put in, smiling for the poor wizard's uncertain expression. "Accidents happen. I'm sure with a magic-driven bus like this, accidents happen even more often."

Lupin gave a slow, almost numb, nod. He didn't explain that it wasn't the bumps that worried him so much as the aftermath. As calm as the captains were, he had a somewhat disturbing idea that this sort of behavior was normal for them. If that were the case, he didn't even want to imagine what would happen once they reached Hogwarts. House rivalry was one thing. This was...well...he still hadn't decided what this was. Scary, maybe...

_**.-.  
**__**TBC**_

_Next up, the second half of the trip, aka, chaos in London. ;p_


	4. Woes of the Chaperone II

Thanks for the positive feedback! I appreciate the encouragement. I'm sorry to those who want me to just focus on Seigaku and leave the others on the sidelines. Half the fun in writing this is that the fic isn't _just_ about Seigaku (like most PoT fics I've found), it's everyone I like from the anime.

**_Author's Notes:_** There's some hopping in this part and less humor. Another reminder - I'm playing light with HP canon, meaning my depiction of things is the way they are in this fic. Corrections for spells and character names are welcome, but I'm not overly concerned with researching canon facts.

**_Character List: _**I have a simple webpage up with a list of the PoT characters, a picture of each, and pictures of the people each is paired with in this fic. If you've had trouble putting a face to a name, this should help. The url is below - copy and paste, and remove spaces.

www . geocities . com / pot9365 / index . html

**_Fanart: _**I have a pic up for the Oshitari-Gakuto pairing, and a cute 'threesome' shot of Jackal-Marui-Jirou. The link to my deviantart page can be found on my ffnet profile.

**_Amvs:_** Fans of Tezuka and Fuji, as a couple or as friends, are recommended to check my amv for the pairing set to Bush's Chemicals Between Us. A direct link can be found on my ffnet profile.

www . animemusicvideos . org / members / members (underscore) videoinfo . php?v91143

**_Main Pairings:_** OishixEiji, KamioxShinji, OshitarixGakuto, SanadaxYukimura

_Minor Pairings (for this part): _Yukimura-Hagrid

**_Warnings:_** shonen ai, language, possible humor  
_Author:_ Arigatomina  
_Email:_ arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com  
_Website:_ www . geocities . com / arigatomina

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part 4: Woes of the Chaperone II_

The jump went as smoothly as Dumbledore had promised it would. Ernie, who Lupin had realized wasn't nearly as surly as he'd first assumed, followed his instructions without complaint. By the time the bus made its jump, Lupin no longer had any fear of being abandoned by the reluctant driver. They both knew it couldn't be helped.

The Knight Bus typically took one hundred mile hops to shorten long trips. That was a guaranteed way to fit a week's travel into a few hours. While the leaps required quite a bit of magic, there was rarely any disturbance caused to the surrounding muggle neighborhoods. Unfortunately for them, the jumps were easily tracked by any wizard interested in the bus's itinerary. With a convicted murderer on the loose, one more than capable of locating the bus via a public jump, they had to deal with a little inconvenience. True, there was no reason for Sirius Black to target a bus-load of Japanese muggles, but lack of a compelling reason hadn't stopped him from killing innocent bystanders in the past. Dumbledore was only taking the necessary precautions.

The bus stopped in the middle of an old cement bridge on the outskirts of a long-abandoned labor district that had once hidden two dozen wizard families, back when the Ministry still had hopes of establishing an Asian branch. Lupin and Ernie exited the bus on the captains' promise that no one would get out of his seat. Dumbledore had scouted the bridge himself, so it only took a moment to activate the magic that would turn the upper layer of gravel and clay into a port key. Ernie kept both hands curled around the window guard of the bus, while Lupin retreated to the dirt road. The moment the port key was activated Ernie, the bus he'd been 'holding,' and the packed layer of clay on the bridge vanished. Lupin went to work masking the magic that remained. Once the traces were faint enough to have been left by the former occupants of the area, he disapparated to rejoin his group.

He found the bus sitting placidly next to a small inn, fields and brush surrounding it. The inn, a simple two-story cottage-like structure made to look like a thicket of thorns and boulders to any muggles wandering by, was the only structure in sight. It was the perfect place to take a quick break before making the rest of the trip. The potential danger and guaranteed inconvenience would only increase once they were traveling through London's dense population of muggles and hidden wizards.

Ernie retreated to the driver's seat while the teenagers climbed off the bus. A few quick words to the middle-aged man who ran the inn, and Lupin ushered the players inside. They took the available tables without a whisper of the bickering they'd displayed when boarding the bus. Even Atobe was silent, despite his intense disapproval of the shabby accommodations. It wasn't until Lupin took a seat that he realized the teens were staring at him in visible reproach.

Atobe sent one slow look at the other players, his expression making it clear that he fancied himself the spokesman of the group. He leveled a smoldering and resentful stare at Lupin. "As I recall, you chose that mode of 'jumping' to avoid frightening us. Did it occur to you that using so much of this 'magic' at once might possibly be _painful_ to those of us who are unfamiliar yet exceedingly _sensitive_ to magic?"

Lupin blinked quickly and glanced over the teens more carefully. Sure enough, the ones Dumbledore had identified as 'tensai' were paler than usual. All of Atobe's teammates were glaring at him, save the bland Kabaji, and Oshitari, who had his glasses off and was inspecting them with a vague frown. Akutsu was giving him a disturbing smile, as if to say it would take more than that to best him, and Fuji, who'd been relieved to find that Yuuta wasn't as bothered as he'd been, had his eyes open in a cold stare. Lupin blinked again.

"My sincere apologies," said Lupin. "It's unheard-of for children with high magical potential to be entirely unfamiliar with magic. European students simply don't turn down invitations to magical schools. I didn't consider what a shock it might be, beyond the expected surprise at witnessing powerful magic. Using the bus as we did should have shielded you from the brunt of the magic..."

"In the future," Atobe said cooly, "I suggest you test your hypothesis before acting on it. Unless a better mode of transportation is devised, Hyoutei will be returning to Japan by plane."

Atobe turned his attention to Tezuka, who was seated at the table to his left. His manner was entirely serious, but still quite the 'king bestowing a gift on his subjects' in the lofty way he waved his hand. "I suppose I can arrange to have your team join us, Tezuka, out of consideration for a worthy rival."

"That won't be necessary," said Tezuka.

He didn't so much as glance at the ridiculously wealthy captain. His eyes were still locked on Lupin. He'd been sitting right next to Fuji during that 'jump' and as much as the tensai went out of his way to annoy him, that didn't mean he appreciated seeing him cringe the way he had.

"This school will be filled with magic," Tezuka said soberly. "If our members suffer simply by being exposed to it, this endeavor will be cancelled immediately."

"It won't be like that," muttered Oshitari, before Lupin could respond. "Hogwarts is geared toward the uninitiated magic-user, with safeguards in place to keep the advanced students separate from the beginning classes. Tolerance levels should rise quickly enough. I doubt we'd have the same reaction on the return trip, after being slowly exposed to magic over the next month."

Atobe looked as if he wanted to argue with that, or dismiss it altogether. Lupin was surprised and a tad suspicious as to how the tensai knew so much about the school, but he quickly nodded in agreement. He started to reassure Tezuka, only to be cut off again.

"I believe he's correct," said Inui, who had considerable experience with rapidly adapting tolerance levels. It had taken him almost three years to make an Inui-juice powerful enough to knock out Fuji, and even the younger members of his team had adapted so quickly he'd been increasing the potency every week to keep them from building an immunity.

"This trip was a shock to the system," he said. "With prolonged exposure at a more tolerable level, adaptation should be rapid."

"We'll take every precaution," Lupin promised. "As for your return trip, I'll speak to the Headmaster the moment we get to Hogwarts. I'm sure we can arrange to have you flown back."

He couldn't tell how well he'd placated them, but at least a few stopped glaring at him. By the time they settled to eating their packed lunches, soft conversation had started up here and there. It was a weak semblance of normality compared to the chaos on the bus, but it was much preferable to that unnerving silence.

He waited to make his rounds until the teens were distracted by their lunches. He wasn't sure what to make of their adverse reactions to the transfer, but since there appeared to be no lasting harm, he didn't feel it necessary to contact Dumbledore immediately. They were on a schedule.

The first item of business was making certain the foreigners would be able to communicate. Dumbledore had proposed the use of wristbands enchanted with a simple translation charm. Since most of the teens already had bands to support their wrists when they played, they were less likely to forget the items and find themselves lost and unable to speak the language. Lupin, who'd never actually watched a tennis match, took it for granted that the Headmaster knew what he was talking about.

Lupin hesitated at the Hyoutei table, where his offer of the bands was met by a resentful glare from the little redhead seated across from him. He explained again how important and useful the bands would be, and the redhead leaned over the table to wave a pair of glasses in his face.

"If your magic crap can make a wrist-band talk," said Gakuto, "you can fix these."

"The bands won't actually talk," Lupin said weakly. "They're more like-"

Shishido interrupted, rolling his eyes at Gakuto and his silent partner. "It's not like he actually needs them, anyway."

"So what?" Gakuto scowled. "You don't need your cap, but I bet you'd be a little pissed if some wizard came and ripped it to pieces for no reason. Why should we do anything he asks when he tears up our stuff?"

Atobe plucked up one of the black wristbands with a perfectly manicured hand and a distasteful expression on his face. His simple movement silenced his bickering teammates. He looked from the band, held between two fingers like a piece of dirty laundry, over to Lupin. "A simple _reparo_ would do the trick, to make up for the uncomfortable jump responsible for the damage."

Lupin blinked in surprise, and Atobe looked double haughty.

"Just because I prefer not to associate with that branch of my family doesn't mean I'm ignorant of the basics."

Lupin didn't respond to that taunt, but he had a sudden epiphany that Atobe was likely a member of the Slytherin line. It was the way he spoke as if he could remark on the weather and have it come out as the most intelligent and creative insult ever thought up. He just knew Slytherin would welcome him with open arms. He quickly repaired the glasses and left the teens to try on the bands with varying degrees of grudging resignation or, in Atobe's case, profound disapproval.

He was quite relieved to find none of the other groups were nearly as hostile. One of the boys from Rikkaidai did glare at him with a little more red in his eyes than Lupin thought human, but as the boy didn't attack him it could have been worse. His soft-spoken captain, Yukimura, was the epitome of grace, which helped to make up for the promise of slow and painful violence in Kirihara's red-tinged glare. He even got a word of thanks from the captain of Fudomine since none of them had brought their own bands. It seemed Dumbledore had been right to choose the accessories as the targets for the translation charms. The bands had a double use for tennis players.

There were no more headaches, at least, not magically induced headaches, for the rest of the trip. Now that they were in England, there were far fewer jolts and therefore less complaining from the passengers. They were well within range to make distance jumps, so the actual travel time was under an hour. That was very good because, as Echizen was quick to point out, the pets hadn't received any attention when the humans had made their stop. He spent the last leg of the journey above with Kaidoh and Inui, the latter receiving a funny look from his captain when he joined the two cat-owners. It seemed he'd managed to sneak his owl aboard without his captain noticing it.

Ernie took off the moment they finished unloading the bus, not offering to help them carry their luggage into the inn. Lupin didn't hesitate over that. The cars would be arriving to take them to the train station in less than two hours and they still had to get robes and wands. He was just glad Hagrid was waiting for them on the other side of the seemingly closed alley behind the inn. The teens were so unimpressed by the sight of the brick wall moving in response to his wand-tapping that he was surprised by their reaction to the sight of the half-giant. It might have had something to do with the fact that Hagrid, who towered like a shaggy mountain-man a few heads above Kabaji, had arms the size of a normal person's thighs. Lupin supposed he could appear a little intimidating at first sight.

Jiroh, who'd remained conspicuously awake and quietly lurking in Kabaji's shadow, gaped and fell over from craning his head back so far. He had quite a bit of company in his shocked state. Even the captains hung back and stared up at the inhumanly tall man with the hairy and too-large head. Hagrid just grinned and greeted them with English so mangled Lupin wondered if the language charms would translate it. His silent question was answered when Eiji cocked his head with a baffled look.

"Did he just call us guns...?" Eiji blinked.

"Me Chuu?" Gakuto was saying, with a confused look at Oshitari. "Is Chuu supposed to be his name? Who talks like that?"

"He called us young-uns," Echizen was saying to his teammate, "not 'guns over there.' Young people. It makes more sense if you listen to what he says and not what the band makes you think he said."

"But I'm no good at English slang!" Eiji protested.

"You'll have trouble, then," Echizen shrugged, not quite smirking when the redhead promptly whined to Oishi that he was showing off.

Oshitari had already removed his wristband. He took Gakuto's as well and translated for him. "He said, 'Oi, chibi-tachi, nice to meet you.' He appears to be of giant blood. Speaking is not one of their noted talents. They're rather like Kabaji, but less graceful and well-behaved."

"Oh," sighed Gakuto. "So he's a magic-mutant thing. Right?"

"Something like that."

Lupin didn't know whether to be embarrassed or insulted on Hagrid's behalf. It wasn't his fault the charms worked according to sound rather than context. He quickly realized it was more worrisome that Hagrid had been identified as part giant with a single look. He wasn't _that_ big. The normal students at Hogwarts had seen him for years without any guessing his background. Were people over seven feet tall so rare in Japan that they were automatically assumed to be other than human?

Yukimura broke the impasse by stepping forward and accepting the hand Hagrid had offered. He didn't seem to notice how his polite 'Hagrid-san' was translated into 'Sir Hagrid,' or the blush it brought to Hagrid's face.

"Ah, well, now," Hagrid mumbled, scratching at his long hair and plucking a bit at his beard. "Jus 'agrid'll do. I'm jus takin some o ya ta be fit'd, is all."

"To be fitted?" Yukimura inquired, with a sweet smile that could have put Fuji to shame.

"Aye," Hagrid nodded, still grinning a little too widely. "Tho I don 'magin ye'll be comin fer that, see'n as ow ye've gotta right bit-o magic yerself there."

"Quite right," Lupin said smartly, remembering his schedule and feeling a bit too amused at how easily the polite captain had charmed Hagrid. It wasn't like him to laugh at his fellow non-Slytherin professors and he wasn't about to start now. "Some of you will be coming with me to get wands, the rest with Hagrid. Those of you I call will need to give your teammates your sizes so they can pick up robes for you. We'll meet back here when we're finished and go directly to the train station."

The teens looked at each other and he hurried to call names before they could complain. "With me will be Akutsu Jin, Atobe Keigo, Fuji Syusuke, Ibu Shinji, Kirihara Akaya, Oshitari Yuushi, and Yukimura Seiichi."

It was fairly obvious that the teenagers were quite attached to their so-called _'tensai'_ teammates. Lupin wasn't surprised by the immediate objections, especially considering two of the boys named were captains. What did catch him off-guard was the language used by a few of the more...outspoken...boys.

"Fuck that," said Gakuto. "You're not taking Yuushi anywhere. And if you _try_, I'll take that magic stick of yours and shove it right up your-"

Oshitari covered his partner's mouth, a small bemused smile on his face. Behind them, Shishido snorted and even Atobe looked amused.

"I don't like it," Sanada said coldly.

"No kidding," Niou scoffed quietly to his vice-captain. "Yukimura's great and all, but there's no way he can babysit Akaya all by himself."

Kirihara scowled at the two, mostly at Niou. "I'm standing right here..."

"I bet it's a trick," Shinji muttered to himself. "Trying to separate us like that. And to get magic sticks? What do we need sticks for if only a few of us need them? Are we supposed to share? Sounds pervy...and unhygienic, too..."

Tachibana coughed into a hand as the others glanced from Shinji to the uncomfortable looking Lupin. Even Sanada turned to stare at the mumbling tensai with a deadpanned expression.

Akutsu filled the sudden silence with a growl of his own. "Why the hell would I need a wand? It's _fucking tennis!"_

Lupin opened his mouth but couldn't form the rational thought required for a response before another spoke up.

"What I want to know," drawled Atobe, "is why Tezuka's name is not on that list."

That was something Lupin could answer. He latched onto it quickly. "Professor Dumbledore made the list. If you have any questions about his choices, you're welcome to ask him once we reach Hogwarts. All I can tell you is that both groups will be perfectly safe. This is entirely routine. But we _are_ on a schedule, so-"

"I'm going, too," said Kamio.

Lupin started with a frown. "That isn't-"

"Shinji won't go alone," Kamio interrupted, stating what he thought should be obvious. "If all you're doing is getting these wand things, it shouldn't matter if I'm there watching. It's not like you have anything to hide, right?"

Lupin noticed that Tezuka and Sanada were looking at him with expressions just as suspicious as the redhead's. He gave in with a sober, disapproving frown. "Very well, but I find this inherent suspicion insulting. I understand that you're new to the wizarding world, but I was assigned to be your chaperone by Dumbledore himself. You can trust him, and me. No professor of Hogwarts would allow harm to come to a student." At least, he added silently, not this year since the 'Defense Against Dark Arts' professor was him and not a Death-Eater or a blabbering idiot.

Yukimura smiled at him, throwing him off guard nearly as much as he had Hagrid. Lupin reminded himself to ask Dumbledore if that was a 'tensai' talent. If so, he'd need to warn the other professors to watch out for overly charming, and likely scheming, geniuses.

"Trust is earned," Yukimura said patiently. "I'm sure you understand. Now, you mentioned a schedule...?"

"Right," Lupin said slowly. He turned to where Hagrid was keeping an eye out for suspicious wizards. "Hagrid?"

"Ready, then?" Hagrid grinned. "Off we go. Jus follow me."

The players not on the list went reluctantly. Gakuto made as if to copy Kamio and tag along with the tensai group, but a look from Atobe dissuaded him. Akutsu was seething, but something, perhaps the reminder of a certain black-mailing headmaster, had him cooperating.

Olivander, the little old wizard whose shop was the source of almost all the wands in England, had been warned of their visit. He wasted no time in measuring, poking, and prodding the first volunteer. Lupin was faintly surprised that Fuji volunteered before Yukimura. Those two were definitely the most cooperative, though he still considered Fuji a troublemaker in disguise. He hadn't quite made up his mind about Yukimura yet.

After what seemed like an hour of trial and error, Kirihara was sighing in boredom, and Kamio was muttering dubiously to his teammate.

"There's gotta be a quicker way to do this," Kamio scoffed quietly, standing near the door with Shinji and those who'd already gotten their wands. "He keeps talking about the types of cores and wood and sizes. There are only so many combinations. There should be a way to say, okay, the phoenix doesn't fit you, let's try one of the other two. Or, hey, mahogany doesn't like you, let's stick with the walnut. You can probably guess the sizes just by the ego. I mean, _come on, _did you _see_ the one Atobe got?"

"Fuji was phoenix," muttered Shinji. "If Seigaku's phoenix, Rikkaidai should be dragon."

Fuji smiled from behind them and nodded to where a certain blue-haired captain was admiring his new wand, unconcerned that Atobe's surpassed his by a good inch in length. "Yukimura got unicorn, not dragon."

"Yeah," Kamio sniffed, glaring at the back of Kirihara's head, "but he's not like _him_."

Kirihara glowered from where he was waving his twelfth wand. Could they talk a little louder about him? If he didn't think Yukimura would sigh and lecture him, he'd have tried waving the wand in the gossipers' general direction. He was so bored he didn't even enjoy the way the shelves of boxed wands across the crowded shop from him exploded in a pretty little light show. After a while, even mini-explosions and random destruction wasn't fun anymore. It might have been, if Olivander had looked the least bit upset over the damage being done to his shop. If everyone who came in blew the place up, he was just like everyone else. Where was the fun in that? At least Yukimura had stopped apologizing for him every time he flash-fried another section of the shelf. The old guy probably had some great insurance, so apologizing was pointless. Why else would he have people test out the sticks inside rather than in a cleared alley or an empty room?

Lupin sighed from where he was playing guard on the door. Akutsu had approached him again, as if he'd be any more obliged to let him pass than the last four times he'd come to tower over him with that ungodly glower of his. As much as it irked him to look up to an eighteen year-old, he was _not_ intimidated. He'd been dealing with Snape daily since the year began. There was no way a violent semi-psychopathic muggle would bother him when he had a violent semi-psychopathic Slytherin professor, and formerly suspected Death Eater, making potions for him to drink.

"You'll have to wait inside," Lupin said, for the fifth time. "I know it's crowded, but we don't have time for sight-seeing. If I let you wait outside, the others will want to as well, and we can't afford one of you getting lost."

Even if he were to wait outside with them, there was no way he could keep an eye on all of them if certain people were as eager as Akutsu to disappear into the crowded shops lining the street. The teen had tried slipping off twice on the way to the wand shop. Lupin wasn't about to trust him any further than he could hex him, which, in a crowded wizard-filled street, wasn't very far.

"I apologize for the inconvenience," Lupin added, as if he thought politeness would help.

Akutsu growled, muttering under his breath about fucking horned horse-hair sticks and decapitation and old bastards who need to be beaten into a gooey pulp. He stalked a few feet away to glower at the other teens, the old shop-keeper, and the shop in general. Lupin merely watched him and wondered how happy Snape would be to get a ripe new handful of evil-minded teenagers in his House. He didn't know how much trouble a few students could cause in a month, but he had an idea Akutsu could cause plenty of trouble all by himself if he had a mind to do some damage. And he did have a mind to, as evidenced by the fact that he'd _growled_ at him. All he'd done was block the door. He couldn't wait till someone like Malfoy insulted him. Who knew, maybe the entire Slytherin house would self-destruct and there wouldn't be anyone left to torment the rest of the houses.

"Finally!" Kirihara spat from across the room. He didn't even say thanks to Olivander before stalking over to glower at Lupin. "Can we go now?"

"I know where _you_ can go," Kamio said, casually, but loudly enough to make the Rikkaidai teen twitch and snap a nasty glare at him. He pretended not to see it as he waved for Shinji to take his turn. "Make him give you one with the right core so you don't have to try out all the rest."

Shinji nodded and proceeded to mutter at the old man who was measuring his arms as if he were being fitted for clothing rather than a magical stick. "It should be unicorn. Tachibana-san would be dragon, and Kamio would be phoenix since he tires and then bursts out stronger. He does it to show off, but still, that fits if they were getting them. I don't fit either of those. That Kirihara got dragon like Atobe, which is what I said, and it _is_ sort of funny that Akutsu and Oshitari both got unicorn, but that could be a fluke. I have more in common with Yukimura than Fuji since he has his eyes closed all the time, and people like that hide stuff more than I do. I guess if Hyoutei's unicorn and dragon, and Seigaku's phoenix, I have more in common with Seigaku, but it just doesn't fit. Rikkaidai's split, too, just like Hyoutei, so it makes sense that I wouldn't have the one that fits my captain, and Tachibana-san would definitely be dragon, though I guess he'd fit the phoenix, too..."

Olivander didn't say a word, not even when the first wand he handed Shinji had a dragon's heartstring as the core and the tensai went off on a mumbled rant correcting him for the mistake. Maybe he disagreed with Shinji's decision that while he might fit phoenix he definitely didn't fit dragon and so it was a waste of even more time trying those. More likely, the wise old wizard had tuned him out. Either way, he smiled pleasantly when the ordeal ended twenty minutes later and Shinji gave another five minute rant explaining that he should have listened to him in the first place because he would know what fit him best since it was him they were talking about and no one would know him better than he knew himself. Whatever went through Olivander's head, he seemed content in the knowledge that the foreigners would now be leaving his shop, and Hogwarts would be footing the bill.

Shinji shrugged at Kamio when he joined the group waiting by the door. "I would know if unicorn fit me, wouldn't I? It's not my fault it took so long."

"No one's blaming you," said Kamio.

"I am," Oshitari muttered from the other side of the group, but he did it quietly enough that the volatile redhead didn't notice. How Fudomine functioned being in constant contact with the rambling tensai was beyond him. Hyoutei had its share of unique individuals, and Jiroh's narcolepsy was bothersome, but even he was never as annoying as that continuous muttering. He swore to himself that if he got sorted into the same house as Ibu, the first spell he'd learn was a silencing charm. Hopefully he'd be able to avoid that fate by asking the talking hat to put him somewhere else. Assuming Hogwarts still used a talking hat...he hadn't spoken with his cousins in years, so maybe the magical school had talking earmuffs now. Either way...

It wasn't until later that Lupin learned he'd gotten the easy group. Hagrid was not quick to volunteer the details, but he could tell from the teens' expressions that things had not gone as well as he might have hoped. All Hagrid would tell him was that while they'd gotten a robe for each boy, he didn't think they'd be worn very often. It seemed no one had informed them of the dress code and they were not happy with the idea, or with the options they'd found at the shop. Luckily that was a problem Dumbledore would have to address himself as Lupin preferred not to look for trouble.

The trip to the train station was noisy, mainly due to the sharing of stories and wands. Lupin did his best to keep the ones in the car with him from playing with the instruments. While the rules of proper wizarding students were rote for him, the Japanese teens took exception to being given sticks they weren't allowed to do anything with. They didn't seem to appreciate that it might be difficult for the driver if random magic bursts were bouncing off the windows and the back of his head. They obeyed only because he was an adult and their captains told them to. He assumed the group in the second car obeyed because Hagrid was big enough to crumple the largest one of them into a little ball if they annoyed him enough. The unfortunate driver of the third car was mute by the time he unloaded his group, but his faintly smoking hair and red-tinged ears spoke of magical misfires. Niou and Marui had the grace to look embarrassed, and Sanada, who hadn't been in the car with them, apologized soberly for the trouble. Lupin decided Rikkaidai was not more trustworthy than the other teams, after all, even with their well-mannered captain looking over them. Yukimura didn't even wipe the smile off his face when his vice captain wilted and looked overburdened by something or other.

There was a lot of chatter on the way to the platform, but Lupin didn't pay much attention to it. He was preoccupied with the curious looks muggles were sending them as they walked through the station. Usually students came in small groups of one or two so they could sneak through the secret passage unnoticed. He was faintly surprised to find that London commuters stared more at people of foreign origin than they did at strangely dressed wizards. He thought it might have had something to do with the variety of hair colors or the blatant Japanese being spoken by Oshitari and Gakuto, who still hadn't put their wristbands back on. He ushered the group close to the narrow wall dividing the two platforms and hoped no one would notice as the teens disappeared one at a time.

For the first time since picking them up, Lupin received the shock and surprised reactions he'd have expected from normal muggle teenagers. It turned out even jaded Japanese tennis players had trouble believing in walls that could be walked through.

"I have heard of such things," Inui offered, only a little doubtful. "But it does look like a normal wall."

Eiji prodded Echizen lightly and grinned when the boy leaned back hard to resist being pushed. "Put your hand through it, Ochibi. Go ahead."

"Why should I go first?" Echizen scowled.

"Because you're the smallest," Eiji grinned.

"Yeah," Momoshiro agreed. "If there's a secret door there, you won't have to worry about hitting your head if it's a short door and not a tall one. Besides, if you get stuck we can push you the rest of the way through."

"Dan's the same size as me," Echizen reminded them.

"But he's not your senpai," smiled Eiji.

"I can take the first few through myself," Lupin offered. "It's really very simple. You just walk through the middle of the wall the same way you would through a doorway. And it's more than tall enough, so there's no need to worry about striking your heads."

Niou smirked at the less than eager expressions on the other players. He patted a light hand on Kirihara's shoulder. "I vote we make Akaya go. He's the one who flashfried that driver."

"Only because you grabbed my wrist," Kirihara glowered. "It's your fault he got hit. You know I was aiming for Yanagi, damn it..."

"Yeah," Niou waved, "and I still say it would have bounced right off his shiny hair and hit Yukimura in the face. Then where would you be? Just accept the blame and walk through the wall."

"_You_ walk through it."

"Jackal will walk through it," Marui said brightly.

"No, I won't," blurted Jackal.

"Why not? You're such a spoil sport today."

Sanada _looked_ at his teammates, silencing them with his well practiced stare. Then he stepped forward and nodded to Lupin. "I'll go."

And he did. He walked right at the wall, completely prepared for the impact and unconcerned about the probable humility he'd suffer. He didn't even hesitate when, instead of rebounding and getting laughed at, he blinked to find himself on a platform with a shiny red train waiting on the tracks. On the other side of the invisible doorway, his teammates gaped and wondered if Yanagi would replace him as vice captain if he'd just been teleported to some alien dimension. Kirihara jumped at that and suggested Yanagi go through next. Either he'd be as safe as Sanada was on the other side of the wall, or they'd both be gone and he'd only have Yukimura to defeat in order to be the best player on the best team.

Things went rather smoothly from there. Yukimura and Fuji volunteered to go at the same time, with Yuuta following, along with his teammates. Tezuka sent the rest of his team through before going himself, mostly to make sure no one - like Momo and Ryoma - were left unwatched to cause trouble. With Tezuka gone, Atobe couldn't allow himself to be shown up. Once Hyoutei was through the wall, Lupin found it quite simple to sneak the others through a few at a time. Akutsu appeared ready to refuse until a small hand caught his and Dan tugged him through, Sengoku adding a two-handed push from behind to speed them along. Lupin was left to wonder how the little boy had managed that without getting his arm ripped off.

Once they were all settled on the train, Lupin steeled himself for making constant rounds. Dumbledore had assured him the train wouldn't be stopped by demontors this time, but he thought it wise to keep an eye on the teenagers. He wasn't sure exactly what he was afraid they'd do if he left them alone for too long. They hadn't bickered very much about compartments, and they were surely tired by now. He simply couldn't shake the feeling he had that even the individual teams were made up of mixed Houses. He was suddenly very glad Dumbledore had chosen to limit the number of wands among them. Even if Atobe was the only one who knew the names of spells, there was plenty of damage to be done with random wand wavings. Lupin was too close to completing his chaperone duty to lose one of the kids now.

Despite his decision to keep an eye on them by making rounds of the different compartments, Lupin ended up sitting with the St. Rudolph trio after only checking two compartments. He'd had a long day. He really didn't have the patience to lecture the pair he'd found snogging in the second compartment. The fact that they were doing it with Jiroh snoring on the seat across from them told him it was too commonplace to get upset over. And Oshitari was quite reasonable when he remarked that knocking was a universal sign of politeness. So Lupin simply turned on his heel and left them to it. Dumbledore could sort _that_ one out himself.

.-.  
TBC

_Next up, the sorting, introductions, and rule breaking._


	5. Separating the Boys I

**REVISED:** I got some names wrong the first time around with this part. Let's assume they got Akazawa's first and last names mixed up. I don't want him going first. The mixup with Wakato and Yagyuu has been corrected. Thanks for the corrections! If you see more, let me know.

Another long chapter broken in two parts. If you want to see more of certain characters, teams, or pairings in this fic, let me know. I tend to focus on my favorites, but I like them all, so I don't mind shifting around.

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part 5: Separating the Boys I_

Hogwarts turned out to be a really big and ancient looking castle. From the name of the place, Fuji had expected something more elegant. Even with the lake that shimmered to the side of the building, and the glints of the towers, the castle had nothing about it that explained why it had been named after a rather pretty plant. The towers were too crowded, mismatched in size and width, giving the building an uneven, unnatural appearance. It really reminded him of a horror movie he'd seen where a haunted mansion grew new wings at random, moving others in the process until the estate fairly overwhelmed the surrounding walls.

Hogwarts didn't have surrounding walls, even if it did look like something out of the middle ages. Fuji was amused to note that there were even suits of armor inside the wide main doors. So fitting with the old fashioned carriages they'd ridden up in. It made him wonder why these wizards used trains and busses when the school had clearly never advanced beyond the knights and damsels era. Now he understood why they used ingredients like unicorn and dragon parts in their wands. It was so mythical and fun.

Of course, not everyone seemed to think it was fun. The carriages had caused a few problems, mostly because they turned out to be drawn by creatures only a few of them could see. Fuji was disappointed to find himself included in the group who couldn't see them. According to Fudomine's Ibu Shinji, they were very unpleasant creatures. It had taken two of his teammates to force him into one of the carriages, and even then he'd gone on and on about how the invisible monsters were staring at him. Akutsu was notably wary when he walked around the front of the carriages, and Yukimura claimed to see them, too, so apparently they really were being watched. It was a shame Hagrid refused to let any of them touch one. Fuji didn't like missing out on something so interesting as invisible carriage-drawing monsters.

Then there was the funny little ghost who decided to peak in at them when they were stopped and ordered, by a severe looking woman with a pointy Halloween hat, to put on the robes they'd gotten. They'd been ushered into a too-small room after entering the castle and the woman, who introduced herself as Minerva McGonagal, told them they'd be 'sorted' in a few minutes. She then threw what Fuji was sure was a reserved, for a woman with such a tight bun, lecture about their lack of proper dress. She seemed to be directing her disapproval at Lupin, who had asked them to put on the robes but hadn't forced the issue when all but a few of them politely refused. The woman and Lupin then left them to wait and, hopefully, put on the robes. The ghost showed up a few minutes later.

Fuji had never been able to see ghosts, but his sister could. Yumiko could see all sorts of things, and according to her, most ghosts were far more polite than horror stories made them out to be. The cackling little ghost who visited them in that crowded room was anything but polite, so Fuji suspected he was an exception to the rule. That, or he was a poltergeist made up of negative human emotions rather than a real ghost. It dropped down from the ceiling and started lobbing wads of wet toilet paper at them. As far as Fuji could tell, the toilet paper was overkill, because just the sight of him was enough to cause a minor panic. He'd never realized Kaidoh had such a high pitched scream, or that Tezuka could yipe without so much as a crack in his calm and sober mask.

Echizen took the paper lobbing quite well, probably because his cap kept his hair from getting matted and Momoshiro was tall enough to hide behind. Poor Atobe wasn't quite as lucky, which explained why he was the second to use his wand to counter the unexpected attack. Kirihara had pulled his first, red-eyed and fuming after being struck in the face by a sopping white clump. Fuji might have helped by using his own wand, but he had dear sweet Kawamura to protect him from the overhead missiles. Sometimes it was nice to be a little shorter than some of his teammates. Besides, it wasn't like he actually knew how to use his wand. And between Kirihara's random missfires and Atobe's hissed spells, the ghost was run off quickly enough. By the time the frowning McGonagal threw the door open to see what the noise was about, they'd managed to win the confrontation. It really was a shame their luggage had been taken from them. If they'd had their rackets available they could have protected themselves better.

McGonagal, who was clearly as tight-laced as Tezuka on his worst days, didn't find the situation very amusing. She wasn't amused that they still hadn't changed, either. But she seemed entirely willing to believe they'd just been attacked by a paper throwing ghost. Apparently his name was Peeves and the wizards let him run around the castle and cause as much chaos as he wanted. Fuji guessed they liked disasters as much as he did. That, or they just didn't know how to properly exorcize a troublesome spirit. He rather liked this Peeves, so he decided not to offer any of the tips he'd picked up from Yumiko on performing exorcisms. After all, it was their ghost. He fit the place as perfectly as the magic, invisible carriage monsters, and suits of armor did.

Whether it was because of the ghost or McGonagal's display of magic when she cleared up the damp paper wads, they ended up going along with the order to put on the identical black ankle length robes. Fuji didn't like his very much. It was heavy on the back of his neck like a loose button-up with weighted pockets. The sleeves were so long his hands got lost in them and he was sure if he tried to walk too quickly he'd end up tripping over the edges. He would never leave Tezuka to pick out his clothing ever again. He'd probably done it on purpose. Fuji wasn't about to forget that worrisome smile his captain had worn during the bus ride.

Still, it was interesting to see the different teams all wearing the same outlandish robes. He'd never realized how eerily similar Kirihara and Mizuki were until he saw them standing a few feet apart in the exact same robe. Creepy. Maybe he should do some matchmaking while he was here. They certainly deserved each other. Then there were Sanada and Echizen with their out of place caps. Fuji was fairly sure they'd be ordered to remove them, but in the meantime it made them cutely matched. And while he wouldn't say anything to hurt Eiji's feelings, the redhead looked adorably feminine in his robe. Almost as much so as Yukimura and Gakuto, if that were possible. Far too cute.

"Why are you smirking like that, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji quickly closed his eyes and flashed an innocent smile at Echizen. "Just admiring our robes. You might want to remove your cap, though. It looks a little damp and it really doesn't match."

Echizen glowered a little, clearly still suspicious, and grudgingly put his hat in one of the deep pockets of his robe. He probably didn't notice that Sanada was doing the same, Fuji having spoken loudly enough to be overheard. Inui made a quiet comment to Kaidoh, who hissed and tugged off his bandanna. Fuji didn't think the witch would complain if he and Ishida kept them on, but Ishida's white bandanna didn't stand out nearly as much as Kaidoh's green and spotted one did.

They were all somewhat presentable when the woman returned. She sent a piercing look over them all and explained that they were to line up and follow her so they could be sorted. Fuji still didn't know how or why they were to be 'sorted,' but he saw a few Hyoutei members looking at Oshitari, who nodded smugly back at them. They lined up by school and followed the woman out of the small room and back across the large hall they'd first entered. Then they were led into an auditorium that had the players in front hesitating until it took nearly two minutes for them to all pass through the doorway.

Fuji liked it. Really, that was the first thing he thought when he saw the room. He liked it. It was perfect. It was a huge room, filled with four impossibly long tables full of kids in the same black robes they'd put on, though they had colored ties. There was another table at the head of the room, where adults who were presumably teachers sat and looked out on the kids. There were windows across from them, showing a dark view of the yard facing the castle. And the ceiling wasn't there. That was what Fuji liked best. No ceiling. It was no wonder the first players to enter the room had hesitated so long. They'd all come into the castle together so they _knew_ there were floors above this room. And yet...no ceiling, nothing but the open sky like they'd put in an impossibly huge television screen where the ceiling should have been. It was just...perfect. He could see Tezuka twitching in front of him. And they'd just gotten here. At this rate he'd probably have an aneurism before the first week was through.

They lined up near the wall, facing the tables and the far windows. McGonagal was putting a stool and a hat that looked as old as the castle on the floor in front of them. Fuji found himself smiling at the kids who were staring at them. He noticed that Eiji's eyes were a little too dilated and felt sorry for him. His friend was probably trying to take in every detail in the room at once and getting overloaded by it all. At least he wasn't twitching. He could still see Tezuka's eyebrow jerk ever so often and knew it was because of the room rather than the audience. Oh, yes, he really liked that lack of a ceiling.

The witch stepped to the side of the stool and the hat and lifted a sheet of paper. What whispered comments there had been from the kids at the tables ended until the room was far too quiet. Then she called the first name on her list and gestured for Jiroh to come over. He went willingly enough, and sat down on the stool, facing the audience. But when she told him to put on the hat, he immediately protested.

"It's too big," said Jiroh.

Quite a few of the kids laughed, and Jiroh looked around in confusion. Fuji didn't blame him for it. Even from where he was standing, he could see the hat was far too big to fit anyone. Jiroh must have looked to Atobe for guidance, because he turned back a moment later and slowly pulled the hat over his head. It fell all the way to his shoulders and looked absolutely ridiculous. Fuji simply couldn't imagine Tezuka or Atobe wearing something that would make them look like that. While he felt sorry for Jiroh, the idea of getting to see Tezuka in the boy's position made him smirk. What a fun ceremony. It just got better when the brim of the hat opened like a mouth and spoke.

"Gryffindor!" cried the hat.

Fuji actually heard Tezuka choke, and as surprised as he was by having just seen a hat talk, he couldn't help but smother a laugh. Oh, this was too fun.

The kids at the table on the far right broke out in applause at the hat's announcement. Fuji wished they hadn't. The noise made it hard to hear Jiroh's excited cries to Atobe. Unlike Tezuka, he seemed to find the existence of a talking hat to be very cool. McGonagal didn't seem to find Jiroh's enthusiasm nearly as charming as Fuji, though. She scowled and said something to the giddy boy, pointing toward the table that had applauded. Once Jiroh had gone over to sit with the kids who'd clapped, she went back to her list.

Yes, she was definitely as straight-laced as Tezuka. Fuji decided he preferred the easily flustered Lupin. She didn't so much as pale when Akutsu walked over to the stool and sent her a glare so hateful it could have peeled paint. The hat barely touched his head before screaming out Slytherin. There was a curious pause before the table on the left side of the room broke out in applause. It was much louder than the applause the other table had given. Fuji wondered if that was because they liked Akutsu's dangerous appearance, or because the kids at that table were just more enthusiastic. Either way, the applause didn't last very long and most of the kids who'd clapped looked a little wary when Akutsu stalked over to sit with them. Apparently they weren't as immune to his glare as McGonagal was.

Atobe made a grand performance of walking from the line to the stool. He sent a knowing look at Jiroh that made Fuji suspicious. There was a definite bit of whispering going on at the table Akutsu had gone to, and Atobe acted like he'd expected as much. It made Fuji wonder what Atobe knew that the rest of them didn't, besides the names of a few spells to fight off ghosts. And he couldn't help but notice that despite the dirty and ragged appearance of the hat, Atobe didn't hesitate in putting it on. Again, it immediately called out Slytherin and that table of enthusiastic clappers erupted in applause. Fuji saw Jiroh wave happily at his captain from the table across the room, and wondered why the kids there frowned and looked at him like he'd done something awful. It told him there was probably a lot more to this sorting ceremony than just having them sit at certain tables.

Dan Taichi was called next, and although he went willingly enough, it took a minute before the hat spoke up. The boy squirmed, too, like having the hat cover his head was uncomfortable for some reason. Fuji hoped it didn't smell as awful inside the hat as its appearance suggested. Atobe had worn it without complaint, so surely it couldn't be _that_ bad. The hat eventually called out a name that sounded like "Hufflepuff", and Dan took off the hat with a sad expression and drooping shoulders. He sent a longing look at Akutsu, so Fuji guessed he'd probably wanted to be put at the same table. The kids at the table beside Atobe had clapped at the hat's decision and that was where Dan ended up sitting, albeit reluctantly.

Echizen was called next, and Fuji was amused to note that their freshman managed to look bored by the entire ceremony. He probably hadn't twitched at the lack of a ceiling, either. The hat didn't waste any time sending him over to join Jiroh at the table on the right. Then it was his turn.

Fuji was relieved to find that the hat didn't smell bad when he placed it over his head. It was a little stuffy and claustrophobic, but it didn't smell. It did talk, though. He suddenly realized why Dan had squirmed, and why Jiroh had been so excited. The hat must have talked to them, too, only the rest of them hadn't heard whatever it had said.

"Well, now, you could fit just about anywhere," the hat commented, in a wry, friendly tone.

Fuji wondered if he'd be heard by his teammates if he replied out loud, or if the hat was talking in some magical 'telepathic' way. He didn't know what it meant by 'fitting anywhere' so he didn't bother with a response.

"Any preference?" the hat prodded, now sounding amused. Fuji took that to mean it could either read his thoughts or see his smile. He smiled wider and shook his head. Something about the hat's knowing, fortune-telling voice reminded him of Yumiko.

"You're very loyal to your friends, and extremely clever and courageous," the hat told him, like he didn't know already. "You can be quite vindictive, as well. You really could fit anywhere. But since you aren't particular, we'll take the middle route and put you in-"

"Ravenclaw," called the hat.

Inui raised an eyebrow and jotted a few lines in his notebook at the surprising decision.

He'd placed Fuji as a definite Slytherin, if not a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. But now that he thought about it, the fourth option did encompass all of Fuji's attributes. It was the tensai's intelligence that made him so good at scheming, whether he was thinking up ways to torment his friends or destroy his enemies. And his loyalty to those he cared about was probably canceled out by his need to extract vengeance on those who hurt them. Looking at it that way, he supposed Fuji could only have been placed in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and since the tensai rarely used his full abilities, most notably in tennis, he probably wasn't suited to Gryffindor. Yes, the more Inui thought about it, the more he agreed with Fuji's placement.

He still wondered if Fuji had _chosen_ to be put in that particular house. From what he'd learned during his research on this particular school, the borderline students did have a little say in the matter. Fuji had to know his brother would never be placed in Ravenclaw. Inui had set his mind on Ravenclaw because he was confident Renji would end up there. He'd expected Fuji to push the hat to place him in the house he thought his brother was most likely to end up in. Ravenclaw had to be the last place Fuji Yuuta would be put. Inui frowned at his data. Did Fuji even realize what the sorting entailed?

Just as Inui had suspected, the hat barely touched Fuji Yuuta's head before placing him in Hufflepuff. He'd calculated the boy had a fifty percent chance of going there or Gryffindor. He didn't really know enough about the boy's mental state to raise either of the stats. He looked between the two Fuji brothers and decided it was a good choice on the hat's part. At least the two weren't in opposing houses like Slytherin and Gryffindor. His data told him students placed in those houses weren't allowed to even look at each other in a friendly way.

Hajime Mizuki was called next, and Inui nodded when the manager was placed in Slytherin. He'd been confident that, like Akutsu, there had only been one option available for him. Unlike Fuji, Mizuki wasn't nearly as intelligent as he liked to think he was, and he was entirely willing to endanger his teammates to get what he wanted. That sort of selfish motivation was the epitome of the Slytherin house.

There as a long pause when Ibu Shinji took his place under the hat. Inui was not the least bit surprised. He'd managed to collect quite a bit of data on Fudomine's tensai, given his frequent encounters with Momoshiro and Echizen. The pause was either because Ibu was muttering, or because the hat didn't know where to put him. Inui suspected it was a combination of the two. His academic records proved he was intelligent enough for Ravenclaw, his tennis records showed he was likely motivated enough for Gryffindor, and he was a member of Fudomine, all of whom were intensely loyal to their teammates, fitting Hufflepuff. Like with Fuji, Inui hadn't bothered to actually calculate where Ibu would end up because there were too many options. All he was certain of was that Ibu had no chance of being placed in Slytherin. In the end, the hat placed him in Ravenclaw. Inui wondered if that were the house the hat put all its borderline cases. Maybe it was.

He went up for his turn and as soon as he put on the hat, he told it he didn't want to be placed in Slytherin. The hat was silent for a moment and he had the distinct impression it was laughing at him.

"I realize I fit that house," Inui explained, without actually speaking, "but I need to be placed in Ravenclaw. My intelligence should be high enough to place me there."

There was another pause after Inui stopped thinking, and then he _knew_ the hat was laughing at him. He felt his eyebrow twitch in response.

"You don't fit Slytherin," the hat explained, in a clearly amused tone. "Despite the effects your potions have on your teammates, they do motivate them to achieve. You could easily use your mixes to incapacitate your rivals, but you don't. You are very careful who you subject to your tests. If you hadn't said anything, I would have placed you in Gryffindor. As it is, I'll put you in-"

"Ravenclaw," called the hat.

Inui had a funny expression on his face when he removed the hat and walked over to the applauding table. Eiji wondered if he were surprised he got put at the same table Fuji had. Or maybe the hat had done something to him. It did talk, after all. Being inside a talking hat couldn't be very comfortable. And Inui had been inside it for a long time compared to the quick guys like Atobe. If Inui wasn't so sadistic with those juices of his, Eiji might have felt sorry for him.

He really didn't want to put that hat on. At least not without finding out what the deal was. He didn't like that Echizen and Fuji were at different tables. There was something wrong about that. He could tell because Echizen had a snarky smirk on his face like he knew something. Eiji had been watching him talk to a little boy with glasses at his table, and whatever the boy had said to him, it made Echizen look surprised, and then he'd looked snarky. He knew something and Eiji really wanted to find out what. He tried watching Fuji for clues, but Fuji had been frowning since he'd sat down and talked to an Asian girl at his table. Something was definitely going on.

Fudomine's Ishida was called to the stool and immediately placed in Gryffindor. Eiji flashed a look between Echizen and Fuji to see if that meant something, too, but they didn't react to the placement. Then Kabaji was put into Hufflepuff and still, no reaction. Eiji squirmed a little when Kaidoh was called up. Would he go to Fuji or Echizen? And what would it mean if he went to one and not the other? Kaidoh barely put the hat on before he took it off again and went over to Echizen. Eiji shot a look at Fuji. Sure enough, Fuji was smirking. Not fair!

A light hand fell on Eiji's shoulder and he shot a frustrated look at Oishi. "Fuji knows something," he whispered. "Ochibi knows it, too! They're up to something and I don't wanna put that hat on...!"

Oishi winced and gave him a weak smile. "We're just being put at certain tables. You don't have to be nervous about it."

"But they're up to something," Eiji whined.

He knew Oishi wouldn't get it. Oishi didn't mind being left out of secrets. Eiji scowled a little and stared harder at Fuji. If only he wasn't so impossible to read, with that smile of his. He was looking at Fuji's table, so he noticed the way Ibu glared when Kamio was placed in Gryffindor. Eiji blinked and looked from one to the other. Was it bad to be placed at different tables? That might explain why Fuji and Echizen were acting funny. But Atobe and Jiroh had looked _happy_ when they were put at different tables and theirs were all the way across the room from each other. It didn't make sense.

Kawamura was called up, and Eiji rubbed his suddenly damp hands on the stupid ugly robe he'd been forced to wear. He was next and Fuji had something planned. That was worse than knowing _Inui_ had something planned! He liked Fuji, he really did, but Fuji was _scary_ when he smirked. And Ochibi was in on it! The hat yelled out Hufflepuff and Fuji smiled one of his calm, knowing smiles. Eiji shivered. He didn't move when the woman with the weird pointy hat called his name. Then Oishi prodded him out of the line and he grimaced. He could swear his hands shook when he picked up that ugly, freaky talking hat.

He cringed at the claustrophobic feel of it sliding down over his head. Then it screamed Gryffindor in his ears and he blinked. Echizen's table was clapping for him. Eiji set the hat down, feeling a little numb and out of it. Fuji was smiling the same way he'd smiled at Kawamura, like he'd known what the hat would say. Eiji frowned a little as he stumbled over to sit next to Echizen. He opened his mouth and was cut off by his snarky kouhai.

"It's a joke," Echizen smirked. "They pick one characteristic and put you in a house accordingly. Gryffindor is brave, Slytherin is evil, Ravenclaw's smart, and Hufflepuff's wimpy."

Eiji blinked. "Wimpy? Kawamura's wimpy? Are they crazy?"

Echizen just smirked wider. "That's the joke. According to them, you can't be brave and loyal at the same time, or smart and brave, or loyal and evil, or anything. Look. Kirihara got put in Slytherin. Because he's evil."

Eiji turned in time to see the Rikkaidai boy stalk over to sit near Atobe at the far table. He couldn't help but laugh. "At least that fits. No wonder Fuji was smiling."

He turned to wave at Fuji and smirked when his friend waved back before looking at the front of the room. Koujirou Saeki was put in Hufflepuff. For some reason, that made Fuji smile wider. Eiji guessed it was because Fuji wanted his friend to be at the same table as Yuuta. He was pretty sure there was nothing wimpy about Saeki, or any of them, for that matter. Except maybe Taichi-kun. But he hung around Akutsu a lot. That had to take bravery.

He glanced back at Echizen. "That Hufflepuff, is that just wimpy, or is it the loyal one?"

"Loyalty is wimpy according to them," said Echizen. "And get this, we're not supposed to talk to anyone who isn't in the same House. Like we're just supposed to stop talking to Fuji-senpai because he's at a different table. It's like a rule."

A girl with fuzzy brown hair frowned at Echizen and shook her head. "That's not what we said."

"Yeah," an orange-haired boy beside her muttered. "It's the Slytherins no one talks to."

"Because they're evil?" asked Eiji.

He laughed when the boy gave a solemn nod. Then he turned back to see were the rest of Seigaku got put. Now he knew why Fuji and Echizen had been smirking like that. Inui was evil. If Slytherin was the evil group, Inui was definitely at the wrong table.

"Kuwahara Jackal," said McGonagal.

Oshitari watched the boy take his place at the stool. So far, everything was going as he'd expected. He was fairly sure at least two people had argued with the hat, judging by how long it had taken for them to be placed. That meant he had a good chance staying out of Ravenclaw. Atobe wanted one of them in each house, but he didn't want to go along with that. It all depended on where Gakuto and Ohtori got placed.

After a short pause, Jackal was sent to Hufflepuff. Marui Bunta got placed in Gryffindor. Oshitari rolled his eyes when the announcement of Marui's placement was met with a loud whoop from Jiroh. How nice for him. He got to be in the same House as his idol while Oshitari was probably going to be in the same mess he'd been in during the tournament meet. He didn't care what Atobe wanted. He was not going to be placed in the same dorm room with Ibu Shinji. Never again.

Gakuto leaned a little harder into his side, and Oshitari flashed him a weak smile. His partner didn't like when he glared like that unless he knew the reason. Said it made him look mean and cold and he didn't like that. Gakuto liked it a lot when he glared at their rivals that way, but not when he glared at something in his own mind. He sighed and tilted his head a little so his whisper wouldn't carry.

"If I'm put in Ravenclaw, I'm sneaking out as soon as I can. Get the password of whatever House you're put in and give it to me before we're separated for the night."

Gakuto glanced over at the Ravenclaw table and made a face. "Promise."

Momoshiro joined his teammates at the Gryffindor table and then it was Gakuto's turn. Oshitari smiled a little at how big the hat was on his partner. He was relieved when Gakuto ended up going to Slytherin. As much damage as Gakuto could do in Gryffindor, he didn't really want him surrounded by Seigaku players, especially when Kikumaru was in that House. Their rivalry was fun, but only when he was there to support Gakuto. His partner was bold and confident, but when it got down to basic facts like weight and size, he really wasn't much of a fighter. He was much safer with Atobe than Jiroh.

Niou was placed in Gryffindor and Ohtori in Hufflepuff. Oshitari had expected Ohtori to go there. It was just like Atobe had wanted. Kabaji couldn't be counted on to act without someone else there to remind him of his objectives. Ohtori was nothing if not loyal to his teammates. He was faintly surprised when Seigaku's vice captain, Oishi, was put in Hufflepuff as well. Like Kawamura, with his 'burning' mode, Oishi didn't strike him as easily manipulated, and that was the main weakness Hufflepuffs had.

His name was called and he sighed. Shishido wouldn't make it into Ravenclaw. There was no chance. He put on the hat and took a deep breath to resign himself. Then he told it to put him in Ravenclaw.

"Really?" asked the hat. "You want to be put in the House you least want to be in?"

"I _have_ to be put there," Oshitari corrected. "It suits me, anyway."

He sighed again when the hat agreed and called out the decision. He went over and sat as far from Fudomine's tensai as possible. It wasn't that he hated him, really. It was that he couldn't _think_ around him. Like getting a song stuck in his head and hearing it over and over until he wanted to bash his head into a wall just to make it stop.

Reiji Shinjou joined him a moment later, and Oshitari suddenly felt as sorry for him as he did for himself. This really was like a repeat of the tournament placings. Except Shinjou went over to sit by Ibu by choice. The poor sick bastard. Maybe he was a masochist.

Sanada and Sengoku were placed in Gryffindor. That didn't surprise him at all. He wasn't surprised to see Shishido end up in Slytherin, either. That was why he'd resigned himself to being the token Hyoutei player in Ravenclaw, because it was him or no one. Really, as great as his team was, his teammates weren't all that bright. Atobe was, but his ego made up for that.

Tachibana and Tezuka also went to Gryffindor. It was amusing that most of the school's captains were Gryffindors. That just proved they weren't nearly as cutthroat as Hyoutei. He wondered what it was like to be on a team where the same regulars were allowed to lose over and over without being replaced. At least Fudomine had an excuse, since they barely had enough players to be a real team.

The sorting finished up with Jyousei Shonan's Wakato and St. Rudolph's captain going to Slytherin, while Yagyuu, Yanagi, and Yukimura joined him at the Ravenclaw table. He was faintly surprised by Yukimura's placement. Oshitari had expected him to end up either in Gryffindor, with Sanada, or Hufflepuff, which matched his easy going appearance. Yukimura was the only captain in Ravenclaw and Oshitari found that worrisome. Atobe had seemed quite interested in him after that bus ride, too. This was a good chance to find out why.

**.-.  
****TBC**

_Next up, wizardlets, bloody ghosts, and rule breaking._


	6. Separating the Boys II

**Notes:** It turns out there aren't any technical rules broken in this part, but it's the thought that counts...right? Heh. Did I mention that humor is the hardest thing for me to write? I end up with subtle and ironic instead. Hopefully it's still interesting. I like interesting. :)

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part Six: Separating the Boys II_

The Great Hall was filled with more talking than usual. The wide variety of magically filled platters were largely ignored by students and guests alike. They had more time for their evening meal than they typically did and were taking advantage of that. Dumbledore had hoped the guests would be welcomed by his curious students. By all rights, he should have looked reasonably happy with the excitement brimming from the four tables. Instead, his gaze shifted between two of the Houses in particular, a troubled frown clouding his face.

"They're all in Ravenclaw and Slytherin," Dumbledore finally remarked. He turned a curious look on Lupin, who was seated beside him. "This isn't at all what I expected."

Lupin wasn't sure how to respond because he couldn't tell from his Headmaster's expression if Dumbledore were dismayed or amused or intrigued - or amused because his dismay left him intrigued. Dumbledore was nearly impossible to read. He had a tendency to flash flighty smiles and speak with careless tones at the most inappropriate moments. Lupin wasn't about to say it aloud, but he almost reminded him of those two genius muggles with their amicable personalities and scheming minds.

"Do you think the Sorting Hat made a mistake?" asked Lupin.

"Surely not," said Dumbledore. "No, it's far more likely that I've underestimated them. I had hoped for a more even distribution, yet here we are with a majority of them in Gryffindor and not a wand among them."

"With so many of the wands in Slytherin, it's bound to cause problems between the two," said Lupin. "Should we provide some of the ones in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor with wands? They can't participate in classes without a single one of them having one."

Dumbledore looked over the tables again, a thoughtful smile pulling at his lips. It wasn't often things didn't go exactly as he expected them to. The sorting had gone as far to the left of his expectations as possible. He'd planned things out so carefully and yet...he had no idea where he'd gone wrong. How very unusual.

"We could provide more wands," said Dumbledore, "but only to the ones who were originally invited. That would place one wand in Hufflepuff and yet another in Ravenclaw. Hardly the best solution to this dilemma. No, I think a better course would be to have more combined classes for the time being."

His gaze caught on the Slytherin table, where one of the Japanese teens had risen to cross and speak to a teammate at the Hufflepuff table, completely unconcerned with the horrified expressions the students there were giving him. He went so far as to sit down and distress rippled over the entire table of Hufflepuffs. Dumbledore's smile grew slowly wider.

"Yes, combined classes...just the thing..."

Lupin shot a frantic look at his Headmaster, unnerved by his tone as well as his smile. He promptly looked away again. Dumbledore knew what he was doing. He had to. He was Dumbledore. Of course he knew what he was doing. There was no reason to feel as if icy fingers were scritching their way down the back of his neck. No reason at all. Really.

Dumbledore let out a pleased little _'hmm'_ and Lupin had the sudden urge to hand in his resignation.

Over at the Gryffindor table, a young girl by the name of Hermione Granger was busy explaining to a squirming Jiroh why it was inappropriate for him to even think of getting up during the evening meal. She was in her third year at Hogwarts and had thick, almost fuzzy, brown hair and a clipped, intelligent tone. She also had a tendency to memorize every book she read and repeat passages to any so foolish as to sit still and listen to her. Jiroh didn't look like he'd be sitting still for long.

"There are no rules against it," Hermione was saying, with a terse frown, "but it just isn't done. It doesn't matter if you're friends or even relatives. Once you're sorted into a House, you stay with that House unless it's a combined class or a free period. No one gets up during meals, certainly not to visit the other tables. Why, Parvati," and here she waved to a pretty dark-haired girl a few seats away, "has a twin sister in Ravenclaw, and yet she'd never dream of trying to sit with her. It's simply not appropriate."

"I live with her at home, anyway," Parvati shrugged, flashing a smile down the table at the cute, but clearly uninformed, Jiroh. "If I need to talk to her here, I can wait till the weekend or catch her in the halls."

Jiroh squirmed a little and flashed another look over his shoulder at the other tables. His eyes widened and he abruptly whipped back around. He didn't even bother to argue with the bossy girl. Instead, he sent a frustrated pout at Sanada, who happened to be sitting beside him.

"Shishido's sitting by Ohtori," said Jiroh. "How's it okay for them and not me? I don't even wanna sit, I just wanted to talk for a minute. How am I supposed to know when we're meeting in the morning if we all have to stay apart tonight?"

Sanada stared at him for a long minute. As one of the last to be sorted, he'd come late to the explanation about Houses, class schedules, and the supposed tennis courts set up across from something called a Quidditch...thing. He still wasn't sure if they were referring to a physical building, a field, or even a game. All he'd heard was that the courts were by this thing, to the side of the castle, and that they'd be able to use it as much as they wanted since tomorrow was Sunday and a free day.

"We should follow their customs while we are here," Sanada ended up saying, despite his own misgivings.

He didn't like lecturing one of Atobe's players. He liked the idea of Kirihara being cut off from the team and in the close company of Atobe even less. Still, he had to maintain a dignified presence or his entire team would likely disintegrate into chaos. If he didn't follow the customs of the place, none of them would.

"Why?" Jiroh pouted. "The magic's cool, and that," he grinned up at the sky for a moment in helpless admiration, "is _way_ cool, but making us split up is stupid. Why should we get to stay in a tower when 'tobe's group sleeps in a dungeon? A _dungeon_! That's crazy! And now I can't even talk to him? What if he gets mad at me? What if I get lost tomorrow or I fall asleep and no one can find me to wake me up?"

"We can probably assume the others have heard about these courts," said Sanada. "Even if they make plans to meet up for practice in the morning, we'll all be going to the same place. There's no need to discuss plans within the individual teams."

Tachibana was sitting on the other side of him. He nodded in agreement and looked at Hermione. "If there's a curfew at night, is there one in the mornings?"

The girl started to answer, but was cut off by Niou, who was waving a wrist at his vice captain from across the table.

"My watch is going nuts," Niou smirked. "No clocks in here, either. How do these guys tell what time it is, anyway?"

"Oh," Hermione blinked, shaking her head at the boy. "Watches won't work here. No muggle devices work properly at Hogwarts. There's no electricity, and batteries die or misfunction. It's no use, really. I had a solar calculator that worked for a week once, but even that started messing up eventually."

That got a wide-eyed look from Marui. "You're kidding, right? Something like, say, a battery operated razor is just gonna stop working here?"

"It'll stop, or it'll misfunction, assuming it works at all," said Hermione.

Marui and Niou exchanged a pointed look. Then the redhead started laughing. Their eyes sought out a certain bald tennis player two tables away.

"Jackal's gonna have a fit," Marui laughed. "The last time he tried doing it by hand, he looked like he got his head caught in a garbage disposal.

Niou turned a smirk on Ishida, who was seated to his left. "I'd bet anything he'll be slinking up to you asking for an extra bandanna to hide the peach fuzz before the week's out. You just know this is going to kill his game."

"Don't say that," Marui blurted. "We'll get around it, even if I have to hold him down and shave his head myself."

Niou snorted. "Then he'll _really_ look like a garbage disposal got ahold of him."

"Kabaji's good with a razor," said Jiroh.

The two teammates blinked over at him, and Jiroh fidgeted. He suddenly became very interested in eating the funky food he'd picked from the platters on the center of the table. When he spoke again, his eyes were locked on his plate.

"Atobe won't let anyone with a beard on the team, so Kabaji's been shaving his face since he was fourteen. He's really nice, and they're at the same table and all. He'd be happy to help out, if a person asked him..."

"That's great," Marui beamed. "Thanks!"

Jiroh grinned and promptly choked on a big gulp of something thick and sweet and spicy. His eyes bulged and he barely managed to swallow it down instead of spitting it out on his plate. He jerked away from his cup, waving an accusing finger at the jug he'd gotten the stuff from.

"What the hell is that? It tastes like...like pumpkin or something!"

A small, almost chubby little dark-haired boy by the name of Neville looked up. He was surprised to find Jiroh's horrified question, or accusation, directed at him. So far, Hermione had been doing most of the talking with the boys seated around him, talking past him as it were. This was the first time any of the Japanese teens had so much as looked at him. He wondered faintly if Jiroh was asking him because he was still upset with Hermione's lecture about not leaving the table during meals. She meant well, but she did come off too strong when it came to rules.

"It - it is pumpkin juice," Neville said slowly. "We always have pumpkin juice with meals..."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Neville admitted. "We just do."

"Weird..."

"I like it," Marui beamed.

"You would," said Niou, rolling his eyes. "You like anything sweet."

Tachibana glanced over at them. He'd been listening to Tezuka's team discuss that Quidditch thing with two boys across from them. Now he leaned back and caught Kaidoh's attention, gesturing for the boy to pass a jug down the table. He set it between Jiroh and Niou and smiled at the Hyoutei boy's wide grin.

"It seems they've added a few things we'd be more familiar with to their normal meal," Tachibana explained. "Tea?"

"Please," sighed Jiroh. "Too much sugar gives me nightmares."

"So much for a match made in heaven," Niou whispered with a smirk, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from a scowling Marui.

"So this Quidditch is like basketball," Momoshiro was saying, a little further down the table. "Except with the snitch thing you can finish the game any time you want?"

Harry, also known as Harry Potter, Potter, or The Boy Who Lived, gave a quick nod. He was the same height as Echizen, with messy black hair and round glasses over bright green eyes. The most notable thing about his appearance was the jagged lightning bolt scar on his forehead. So far he'd managed to keep his best friend Ron from blurting out why that scar was so notable. It was sort of nice to be surrounded by people who had no idea he was famous, even if they were muggles who had no idea about anything to begin with.

"Sort of," said Harry. "There are three goals with Quidditch - there's the audience stand and then a goal on the other three sides of the field. We use two balls, too. The one the Chasers use to score points is the quaffle, that's the ball the Keeper has to keep out of the hoops. Then there's the bludger. The Beaters hit that with bats to keep the other team's players from scoring."

"Sounds more like American football," said Eiji. "Instead of tackling people, you hit them with a special ball. Egh...I don't like contact sports like that."

Momo grinned over at him. "And it's all done flying around on broomsticks, so it's even worse if you get hit and you fall off. Can you imagine playing tennis on a broomstick? So much for the Moon Volley."

"Na, na," Eiji waved. "There's no way. You'd have to fly so low there wouldn't be any point of flying except for the lobs and smashes. And that's what jumping's for."

"I don't get the scoring," Momo said, turning back to Harry. "What's the point of having all those people if the only ones that matter are the Seekers? They can finish the game as soon as it starts, right?"

"It's because we play by seasons," a red-haired boy spoke up. "It's accumulative. If you finish too soon, that 150 points you get from catching the snitch might not be enough-"

"-for the team to actually win the season," an identical red-haired boy finished. "It's all about the points. It doesn't matter how many games you win if you don't have the most points in the end."

Fred and George Weasley were twins with an unnerving habit of finishing each other's sentences and switching identities. They were in their fifth year at Hogwarts and were both Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They were about Eiji's height, with reddish orange hair and freckled complexions - classic Weasley features. At the moment they were sitting next to their little brother Ron for the sole purpose of getting a good look at the visiting foreigners. Dumbledore planned to have the group following the less advanced students in their classes, so chances were they wouldn't see much of them during the day. It was such a shame, too. Having a bunch of unwitting muggles around was the perfect environment in which to cause mischief.

"But, still," Momo frowned. "If you catch that snitch thing as soon as the game starts, the game's over without the other team scoring anything. Automatic win."

"It's not that easy," said Harry. "The Golden Snitch looks like a little bug. It flies around the field, and it's really hard to see."

"Yeah," said Fred, or maybe it was George, "the Seeker's important, but don't go giving Harry here a big head. He'd be smashed up in a minute if it weren't for us keeping the bludgers off him."

"Hmm," Eiji smiled. "I just want see the flying. Think they'll let us try that? Nya! Ochibi-chan! You'd look so cute on a broom!"

He leaned over to grab Echizen, rubbing his cheek on the top of the squirming boy's head.

"We'll get you one of those witch hats and you can fly around Momo's head going, 'mada mada dane.' So cute!"

"Iya da," Echizen muttered sullenly. His eyebrow twitched at the funny looks the strangers were giving him and his senpai. He was very glad he hadn't gotten trapped between Eiji and Momo. One of them was bad enough.

A few seats down, Kamio was wincing from the overly friendly advances of two girls and one Yamabuki regular. Surprisingly enough, the girls were worse than Sengoku. The last time he'd seen him around females, the guy had practically been drowning in his own drool. Now he seemed content to just grin at the pair and wink now and then.

"The stairs turn into a slide if a boy tries to go up them," giggled the one who'd introduced herself as Lavender - like the color, Sengoku had responded with a grin. "Boys can't sneak up to the girls' dorms."

Kamio smiled weakly and didn't bother explaining he'd had absolutely no intention of trying. Sengoku probably appreciated the warning, though.

"The boys' dorms are up the other stairs in the common room," said Parvati. "I hear they prepared two extra rooms for you guys, but I don't think they planned to have so many in one House. Usually we don't have more than five people to a room."

"And the girls' dorms are just like the guys' dorms?" asked Sengoku, with a sly smile. "How do you know?"

"Oh, there's nothing to stop us from going into the boys' dorm," Lavender giggled back. "Girls are more trustworthy than boys, after all."

Kamio did his best not to choke on his food. Girls were? Since when? Was it an English thing? Ever since their team started competing, half the girls at Fudomine had turned into rabid hunters. He'd been cornered by more than one of them, and he knew for a fact Shinji had gotten jumped enough times to seriously consider hitting them in self defense. It didn't matter if they were older or underclassmen, determined fangirls were scary. He turned in his seat and sent a very worried look over at the table next to theirs. He was relieved to see the girls there were safely occupied with Seigaku's smiling tensai and Rikkaidai's captain.

Cho Chang, an Asian girl in her fourth year at Hogwarts and Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was currently explaining things to an attentive Fuji. He'd reacted strangely when she first told him about the Houses, but now he listened with a calm smile. It was a shame he'd settled down so quickly. She hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of his eyes since he started smiling.

"I'm sure they'll have schedules for you by tomorrow afternoon," said Cho. "Our team has the Quidditch pitch reserved in the morning, so you can come watch while you wait. That tennis court is just on the other side."

"Our captain will probably want us to practice first thing in the morning," said Fuji. "Even with this trip, we still have a National competition coming up soon. Perhaps another time."

"I don't think you'll be able to meet before breakfast," the girl frowned. "No one goes out that early, even on the weekends."

"It's not against the rules," said Oshitari, who was sitting on the far end across from the girl.

"Well, no," Cho admitted, "there aren't any rules against it. But no one does it. Unless you go out really early, you'd end up missing breakfast. You wouldn't be able to practice, anyway, if you went out in the dark."

"No electricity," Fuji smiled, "no lights. I take it magic can't be used to solve that sort of problem...?"

"We haven't learned anything that advanced," said Cho. "You could use a spell to light up a room, but not an entire field."

Oshitari sent a dismissive look at the girl and turned his full regard on Fuji. "Atobe will settle it if necessary."

"He did do rather well against that ghost," Fuji smiled. "I take it you two know quite a bit about this school?"

"Hearsay, mostly," Oshitari shrugged. "I have relatives who've graduated from here. It doesn't look like the place has changed at all since then. Atobe has a better connection. There are still tricks to using these things," he pulled out his wand with a frown. "Just knowing the names of the spells isn't enough."

Cho frowned at them. "You have to wave your wand a certain way for each spell. But how would you know the names of spells? If your family went here, they shouldn't have told their muggle relations anything at all. That's forbidden."

Oshitari didn't even blink an eyelash at her. "We'll be sitting in on classes, so it shouldn't be difficult to pick up the motions. Anyone who can do higuma otoshi should be dexterous enough."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Fuji.

"If it were?"

Fuji let his eyes open in a glinting smile. "I'd look forward to learning a few things. I wouldn't want my dexterity called into question."

"Indeed," said Inui.

The two tensai turned to him, both noting the notebook he had opened to the side of his plate. Fuji's expression settled into a knowing smile.

"I understand that wizarding students here have a formal dueling procedure," said Inui. "I'd be happy to research it and deliver equal information to the both of you, to ensure an even duel. It would be a matter of who is the quicker learner. Though my initial data tells me Fuji has an 85 percent chance of winning regardless, as he has never lost a one on one competition of any kind. Excepting one pool game against Echizen, which can be disregarded due to a certain lucky pocket..."

"And every practice and ranking match I've ever played against Tezuka," Fuji smirked. "How could you leave that out?"

"I only considered competitions you took seriously," said Inui.

"Ah."

Oshitari sent a smoldering look at the data player and pushed away from the table. The Asian girl opened her mouth like she was about to protest his intentions. He turned before she had a chance. Custom or not, he knew for a fact there was nothing to stop students from moving about during meals, providing they did it quietly and without causing trouble. That was the problem with these students. They couldn't interact with other Houses without causing trouble because that was the main reason they ever interacted - to cause trouble. So childish.

Gakuto flashed a wide smile when Oshitari took the seat between him and Atobe, the same seat Shishido had abandoned a few minutes earlier.

"You didn't last long," Gakuto laughed.

"I seem to have gotten myself into a wizarding duel with Seigaku's tensai," Oshitari drawled.

Atobe turned a sharp look on him. "Why?"

"It wasn't intentional," said Oshitari. "I was merely discussing the way magic is done here with the use of wands. Their data player took it as a dueling challenge. I have no intention of putting myself into a situation where I might be hexed by a rival player."

"Would you win?" asked Atobe. "If you dueled?"

"Of course. But he would be in no condition to play afterward. If I did that, it would imply I'm incapable of facing him in a real match and sought to disable him beforehand. I refuse."

Gakuto sighed in disappointment. "You should be more underhanded, Yuushi. You'd have a lot more fun."

"Ah," Oshitari smirked, flashing a look at his partner. "But the point of being underhanded is not to get caught."

A young boy with slicked-back blonde hair sitting across from them was following every word. He gave a slow nod at Oshitari. "You're the Ravenclaw, then? You could do anything in that house and they'd never expect it. They're nearly as bad as the Hufflepuffs."

Atobe sent a look from the boy to Oshitari. "This is Draco Malfoy. His father is quite renowned."

"As much as your grandfather," Draco returned, with a sly nod to Atobe. "My father contacted me the moment Dumbledore came up with this idea. We were expecting your entire team to be placed in Slytherin. But having a few in the other Houses should prove...useful."

"I thought so," Atobe smirked.

Oshitari acknowledged Draco with a nod and turned his attention back to his satisfied looking captain. "It appears Seigaku will be meeting on the courts first thing tomorrow morning. I expect the other teams will do the same."

"That should be interesting," said Atobe. "But Gakuto tells me you have reservations about your House?"

"My being there won't be useful if I self destruct within the first week. It depends on the rooming assignments."

Atobe sent a marveling look at the table Oshitari had been sorted to. He'd known the teen for years. The only players on the team with more patience than Oshitari were Ohtori and Kabaji. He couldn't help but wonder at the person who could shake him up so easily.

"Is he really that bad?" drawled Atobe.

"Yes."

"Don't get caught. I intend to take advantage of this trip."

"I know," said Oshitari.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Jiroh was getting more antsy than ever. That made two of his teammates who'd switched seats. He just knew Atobe expected him to come over before the meal was finished and they were all separated for the night. Normally he'd have just gone without thinking twice about it. But he was supposed to get along with these people, make them think he was a good, easy-going kid, just like them. And he was easy-going. He wasn't good, exactly, since he did get in trouble for falling asleep a lot, but he didn't do it on purpose. He wanted to get along, especially with Marui in the same group. He just didn't like making his captain mad at him. Then again, he didn't want to spend a lot of time with people who glared at him like he was a traitor, either. No matter what he did, he couldn't win. It really wasn't fair. Oshitari got to visit, so why not him?

"That's two, huh?" Marui sighed, knowing exactly why the usually sleepy boy was now twisting in his seat like he needed to go to the bathroom. "Hey, Sanada. Why don't you let me go tell Jackal and Akaya about us meeting first thing in the morning? I'll come right back, and this guy here can go see his captain without getting the brunt of all the glares. It is pretty stupid for them to make him feel like his captain's a leper and all. Though, them calling Akaya evil is pretty funny. I'll give them that."

"Not fair," Niou sighed. "I wanted to be the one to tell Akaya the kids here think he's a leper. You just know he'll be twice as bad once he finds out they already think he's trash."

Neville's eyes widened and he flashed a look at Hermione's profile. She wasn't paying any attention to the guys on his side of the table, but he was sure she'd have taken insult from the way they were twisting her words.

"It's not that we think your friends are bad," Neville said, frowning at Niou. "It's the House they're in, not them. The Slytherins always start problems. Some of them even bully people and hex them in the halls. Plus, well..."

None of them had mentioned anything about Voldemort or Death Eaters, not to the foreigners. Neville didn't want to be the one to do it. So he couldn't exactly explain that every Death Eater people knew about had come from the Slytherin House. Every single one except the escaped convict none of them wanted to mention at all. Sirius Black had come from Gryffindor. No one wanted to talk about that. But all the others were Slytherin to the core. If that didn't make the House a breeding ground for evil, he didn't know what did.

"I'm sure they have a reason for their bias," said Sanada.

He started to turn down Marui's request, but he was interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder. He frowned when he saw who it was. Tachibana frowned even more.

"Shinji?" asked Tachibana.

"Switch tables with me," Shinji said to Sanada. "Your captain wants to talk to you. He wouldn't say why, but since I wanted to come over here anyway, he said to tell you to switch tables. You should go sit by him. He's too nice and I think that Luna girl is hitting on him. He must not get hit on very often, or maybe it's because she's so much younger than him. He looks a little uncomfortable..."

"Excuse me," said Sanada.

Niou laughed when their vice captain immediately got up and went over to sit between Yukimura and a little girl with dirty blonde hair and a dreamy smile. She couldn't have been more than fourteen. But any potential threat against their captain...

"That's it," grinned Marui. He hopped up and tugged Jiroh to his feet. "Let's go see your captain, too, ne?"

Jiroh flashed a wide, almost worshiping, smile. "You're so cool..."

"Aren't I?" Marui beamed.

Niou rolled his eyes and flashed a smirk at Shinji, who'd taken Sanada's vacated seat. "Was that kid really hitting on Yukimura?"

"I think so," Shinji frowned. "She was talking about those monsters we saw earlier. Then she started talking about death and weird stuff, and petting his hand. I think he just didn't know how to ask her not to without hurting her feelings. Unless he didn't really mind and he was just using that as an excuse to get his vice captain to go sit with him. He looks a little sly like that, so he might have just been acting uncomfortable."

"That sounds more like Yukimura," said Niou. "He's so got Sanada whipped."

Shinji gave a slow nod and turned to his own captain. "Everyone at that table is planning to meet first thing in the morning. Are we doing that, too?"

"Yes," said Tachibana. "For now just stick with whatever the other teams in your House do. You really shouldn't have come over here, though. It's bad manners."

"I know," Shinji shrugged. "I just wanted to, and Yukimura-san asked me to, so I decided to go ahead and do it. It was a good excuse, not that I needed one. I never agreed to this."

"What do you mean?" asked Ishida. "Agreed?"

"The invitational tournament was different," Shinji frowned. "I had to go because Tachibana-san couldn't, and we had to follow the rules there because we're tennis players. This is different. I never agreed to be here by myself just because a hat told me to sit somewhere else. They never said anything about splitting us up. I didn't even want to come here, and I know that woman with the hat is the pervert who sent those letters and got me in trouble that time. I recognize her name. She got me grounded for a month, and now I have to have her for a professor? I didn't agree to that. And it's not fair that I have to listen to some hat. It lied, too. It said I wasn't motivated, but I am. I hate losing. I shouldn't have to be by myself when the rest of my team gets to be together here, just because a hat says I'm not motivated enough. It's not right. I never agreed to that."

The muttering wasn't nearly as quiet as usual, and it was coming way too fast, clear evidence of distress. Tachibana winced and did his best to calm him down. He wasn't as good at it as Kamio was, but he'd learned to recognize the warning signs. An agitated Shinji was nearly as dangerous as a silent Shinji.

"Here," said Tachibana, "eat something. We'll work it out."

"There aren't any empty seats by Kamio," Shinji frowned.

"I know. We'll all practice together first thing in the morning."

"I don't like it," said Shinji.

"I know."

On the other side of the room, Marui left Jiroh chatting happily with his captain and went to hover over Kirihara. He was surprised when the boy didn't even notice his arrival.

"Oi, Akaya, wake up. What's the matter with...oh. Whoa. That's freaky."

There was a ghost sitting a few seats down from Kirihara. Marui had seen one at his own table earlier, but it had been chatting with some students just like it was a real person. That know-it-all girl had called him Nick, Nearly Headless Nick. Marui had just been glad the ghost was see-through so it couldn't pick up stuff like toilet paper. The ghost that had attacked them had been visible, like an ugly squat little man with a snickering voice. The thing sitting at Kirihara's table was like something out of a horror movie. It was silent and covered in bloodstains, almost surrounded by empty seats.

Grim eyes turned on Marui, and the redhead gulped. That certainly explained why his normally bold and trouble making teammate was sitting absolutely still with his head bowed, eyes tight shut, and his hands in fists at his sides. Retribution for being an evil little brat was all good and well, but even Kirihara didn't deserve to be abandoned with _that_. He was a cute evil little brat, after all, and Marui rather liked having him around. Marui promptly drug Kirihara out of his seat.

"Come on, Akaya," Marui whispered, a weak grin spread out over his face as that bloody ghost continued to stare at him. "Let's, uh, let's go talk to Jackal. Yeah, that'll be fun. Come on, there's no point sitting here with - er - by yourself. Yeah...let's go be sociable. Heh..."

The bloodstained ghost, also known as the Bloody Baron, head ghost of the Slytherin House, and the only creature aside from Dumbledore that could shut Peeves up with a simple look, turned to watch the two beat a hasty retreat. Then he turned his grim, cold, stare back to the unfortunate boy sitting across from him.

Mizuki froze and wondered how he'd ended up across from the ghost while his captain was all the way on the other end of the table. If Fuji had been asked, he might have explained about karma. As it was, Mizuki was left to wonder, fidget, and hope the gathering ended very, very, soon.

-.-

TBC

_Next up, tennis, exploration, and magic._


	7. Early Morning Chaos I

_Hm...got some exploration here, but not so much on the tennis and magic. We'll get there. Nothing goes smoothly with these guys. o.o;;_

**Harry Potter Notes:** Remember, this takes place in the third year. If you haven't read book three...well...I bet you were really confused when Lupin showed up in this fic. o.O But if you're still reading, I guess you'll be fine with possible spoilers. The tenipuri guys don't know what's going on, either, so you're not alone.

**Pairings:** Sanada-Yukimura, Kamio-Shinji, Oishi-Eiji, Oshitari-Gakuto  
**Minor Pairings (for this part): **Sengoku-Kirihara, Jiroh-Marui, Kabaji-Jiroh, Shinji-Luna

**Magic of Tennis**

_Part Seven: Early Morning Chaos I_

Echizen woke to the feel of sharp claws pricking his arm. He sniffed and grumbled at Karupin. A hard furry head was doing its best to burrow under the small of his back. He groaned and rolled onto his side in a loose fetal position, giving his cat a better 'hollow' to curl up in. A sleepy part of him wondered why Karupin was being so restless tonight. Then a muffled groan sounded from somewhere in the room. So that was it. Echizen scowled beneath his cocoon of blankets. What was Momo doing in his room and how the hell had he gotten past his dad? The way those two bickered, he should have heard him coming the second he set foot on the property...

"How does that thing keep getting in here?"

That sleepy mutter was definitely Momo. Echizen cracked an eye open. Not that it did any good. He had no intention of peeking out from under the blanket.

"Mnyeh...! Not again. That thing's crazy. I don't even think it's a cat..."

A yawning nya? That had to be Kikumaru. Momo and Kikumaru both in his room at the same time? First thing in the morning, too? Even his nightmares weren't that traumatic. Echizen cracked open his other eye and scowled at the blanket covering his head. Now he _really_ didn't want to peak out there.

"Mn...the kitty again? Jeeze. Come here, kitty. I'll take you downstairs..."

Who the hell was that? Those two and someone whose voice he didn't even recognize? No way would he dream that.

Echizen let out a loud sigh and sat up to scowl around the dark room. There was a canopy surrounding his bed. Now that he was awake, he remembered closing it earlier. Something had opened the curtains on him just enough so he had a good view of the intruder. That big ugly orange cat was back. He knew they should have brought one of the chairs up from the common room to prop against the door. Either the cat knew how to turn doorknobs, or someone was letting it into their room. A tousled looking redhead was picking up the cat. Marui Bunta. No wonder he hadn't recognized the voice. Talk about messed up rooming assignments.

Oblivious to the freshman scowling at him from the nearby bed, Marui yawned and picked up the heavy cat. It squirmed a bit before it gave up and allowed itself to be escorted from the room yet again. The moment the door closed behind them, Momo flopped back on his bed with another groan.

"That's the problem right there," said Momo. "I know you're all cat lovers, but seriously. You have to throw the thing out. If you keep being so nice about it, it'll just keep coming right back in. That girl's cute and all, but her cat needs a kick in the ass."

"Animal abuser," Echizen sniffed.

Marui returned before Momo could voice a retort. He sent an envious look at the fifth bed in the room. Jiroh hadn't so much as twitched since he collapsed on it, not even when the cat had bounded over him the second time they'd caught it rooting through their stuff. Must be nice to sleep through everything. Marui knew he probably had two hours at most before Sanada would be down, expecting him to already be up and ready for practice. Yukimura might accept an intruding cat as a valid excuse for oversleeping and being late to practice, but Sanada wouldn't.

"Why do you think it keeps coming in here, anyway?" asked Marui. "It's not after food, or it would have gone for Kikumaru's snacks."

"Karupin's afraid of him for some reason," said Echizen. "But they've been ignoring each other every time he gets in. Maybe it's _not_ a cat. The only thing Karupin's afraid of are dogs and bugs."

Momo snorted at that. "Your cat's afraid of bugs?"

"Shut up," scowled Echizen. "He's an indoor cat."

"Whatever," Momo shrugged. "That thing was rooting around in my clothes the first time it got in. I don't care _why_ it's doing it, I just want to know how it got that trunk open. It took me forever to figure out the latch."

"Momo-senpai outsmarted by a cat," Echizen smirked.

Eiji groaned and kicked at his covers. "Come on, you two, don't start. The cat's gone, right? Let's just sleep. I'm so _tired...!_"

"Here," Marui said to the grouchy, sulking Momoshiro. "Help me move our trunks. We can block the door with them. If it _still_ gets in, I'll hold the kid back while you kick it down the stairs. Deal?"

Momo perked up eagerly. "Deal!"

Echizen dropped back on his bed, spooned his fluffy cat, and jerked the blankets over his head once more. All of their bags had been placed next to specific trunks earlier, following some sort of preplanned rooming assignments. It was late enough that no one thought about moving things around. Come tomorrow, though, he was definitely picking his own roommates. Somehow he managed to doze off again. And he was more annoyed than surprised to be woken up a few hours later to screams and someone jumping on his bed. His roommates sucked.

.-.

Sanada was in a very bad mood when the knock came. He hadn't slept well to begin with, so he was the first person to wake up and get the door. His glare was hateful enough to make even Seigaku's overconfident freshman take a sharp step back. The kid was lucky he didn't get a growl to go with the glower.

He'd had his reservations from the start. Most of it came down to the letters. He still remembered Yukimura pulling them aside six years ago to show him and Renji that first letter. They'd spent weeks trying to find the culprit, someone who'd managed to get into Yukimura's bedroom and slip an envelope under his bathroom door without his parents being any the wiser. They'd actually suspected one of his relatives for a while there. And it turned out to be nothing more than an owl and an open window.

Yukimura thought it was funny. He'd spent the rest of the school year looking over his shoulder, sticking close to his friends because he was afraid to be alone in his own room, and now he laughed it off like a silly misunderstanding. Sanada wasn't that quick to forgive and forget. He was relieved to know there had never been a real threat. And he could see - if he tried really hard and had Yukimura reminding him to think about it calmly - how these strange people might have honestly thought there was nothing wrong with entering a little boy's room to delivery an invitation. These wizards were bizarre and they didn't know any better. That still didn't make it okay.

To add injury to insult there was that instant teleportation bus jump thing. Kirihara and Yukimura were the sort to downplay an injury, and from the look of it Atobe was the same way. But it had clearly been painful. Even he'd felt light-headed and queasy afterward. All that from one second of exposure. And now these people had the nerve to separate the teams - not only by 'House', but by room as well?

It wasn't that he disliked his roommates. Tachibana and Tezuka were certainly less of a headache than Marui and Niou would have been. He had an idea Sengoku was biding his time before causing trouble, but even he'd gone to bed without saying much. True, what little he _had_ said was troublesome in itself, but that was Kirihara's trouble, not Sanada's. As long as Sengoku didn't plan to rape or kill him - or be killed by him for trying to rape him - it was none of Sanada's business what his teammates chose to do with rival players off the court. If it didn't affect Kirihara's game, he didn't care. He didn't even want to know about it. He certainly didn't want people asking his _permission _to stalk his teammates.

No, his roommates weren't the issue. The problem was that all of the captains in this group had been placed in the same room. God only knew what their teammates were doing without supervision. And he swore if Yukimura hadn't been roomed with Renji, or at least Yagyuu, he was going to have a talk with that Headmaster. That old man, even if he was a magic-using headmaster, did _not_ want to see Sanada Genichirou angry.

Echizen Ryoma was watching him warily from under the bill of his cap. Sanada ripped his glare away - no sense wasting it on an innocent bystander - and stepped aside so the boy could enter. He assumed Echizen was there to see his captain. He was only partially correct.

Tezuka was up and alert as soon as he realized it was one of his teammates. "Echizen?"

"There's a mess downstairs," said Echizen, not quite meeting Tezuka's eye. He winced a little and turned to include Sanada. "We think Momo-senpai killed someone's pet. And Marui broke the window and cut his arm. He said it was fine, but it was bleeding a lot so Kikumaru-senpai and some guy named Jordan took him to the nurse. They have an entire hospital wing here. Momo-senpai and those Weasley twins went to try and identify the body so I figured I should let you know where everyone is. We sort of woke up the guys in the room above ours, or maybe the one beside ours. The rooms in this tower don't follow common sense. Oh, and Jiroh's gone, too. He was really upset because of the window thing, so we didn't get a chance to see if he was hurt before he ran off. They have rats here."

There was a stunned silence in the room. Part of that was because Echizen's voice never wavered from his seemingly bored monotone. Sengoku grimaced and spoke up first.

"Rats?"

"Yeah," Echizen frowned, "big ones. Those twins said that's what the pets are here - rats, frogs, owls, and cats. Every student here has to have a pet. They're pretty sure that rat was their little brother's. It's been missing for a while. They thought it got eaten and was dead. It probably _is_ dead now. It was in Momo-senpai's bed."

"In his _bed_? That's horrible!" Sengoku shuddered.

Echizen smothered a yawn and then grimaced a little. "It was really ugly and big. Everyone freaked out. It ran all over the place, too. Kikumaru-senpai tossed a shirt on it and Momo-senpai thew it out the window. The window got broke right after I woke up, so I didn't really see that. I think they fell off the bed and crashed into it or something."

Tezuka took a deep breath. Then he tossed a jacket on, grabbed his glasses and stepped up to Echizen. "Where's Momoshiro?"

"Outside looking for the body," said Echizen. "The twins said they'd be able to tell if it's their brother's or not."

"Were you or Kikumaru injured?"

"No, just Marui and maybe Jiroh."

Tezuka nodded and headed for the door. He stopped a moment later and went back to put shoes on. "Wake up Kaidoh and have him wait downstairs."

"Okay."

Sanada caught Echizen before he could leave. "Do you know where this hospital wing is?"

"No."

Of course not. They didn't know where anything was because no one had bothered to tell them. Sanada sighed and shook his head. Now he was almost as tired as he was annoyed.

"Would you wake Niou as well?" asked Sanada. "I have to go find Marui..."

"Ask the paintings for directions if you get lost," said Echizen. "That's what that Jordan boy said before they left. I guess they're all like that fat lady picture with the password to get in. This place is weird."

"I'd say," Sengoku said, shaking his head. He watched them leave and then tossed a grin at Tachibana, who was still sitting on his bed with a dazed look on his face. "Glad we didn't get the rat room."

"This is going to be a long month," Tachibana said slowly. "A very long month..."

"Ah, don't wig out yet. Just think what's happening in the other Houses. I know for a fact Jin hates rats more than he does owls. And don't even get me started on frogs. Egh! This place will be petless before the week's out."

Tachibana turned to stare at Sengoku. "I shouldn't...wig out...because things are bound to get worse? That's every reason _to_ be worried."

"Well, yeah," Sengoku admitted. "But at least it's not your team causing the trouble. I've gotta deal with Akutsu Jin. I'm pretty sure you've got it easy compared to that. And speaking of which...! I'm gonna go see what those Sillythingy guys are up to. Ten to one that's where that sleepy kid took off to."

"_Slytherin_," said Tachibana.

"I like mine better," Sengoku winked. "Say hey to Rhythm-kun for me. I'll probably pop by those courts later on. I've a Kiri-kun to track down. Gotta be careful stalking those..."

.-.

Ravenclaws were petty geeks. Shinji had a tendency to judge people according to first impressions, and that was what he came to. They were petty and smart and completely uninteresting. The only person he'd met in the House who wasn't boring was that crazy girl who read things upside down. Actually, she was probably rich if her dad owned a magazine, so he guessed eccentric would be the better term. She was still insane. He sort of liked it. He'd never met an insane person before.

Luna Lovegood. Yes, eccentric did fit her better than crazy. She had the funniest name. She was pretty, too, in a careless sort of way. Long sandy blonde hair and dreamy eyes - dreamy as in distant and almost glazed over. She looked just like Shinji felt most of the time, like she wasn't all there. And she believed him when he said there were things moving around in his room.

He'd spent the entire night watching shadows where there shouldn't have been any. There had been some bickering over where the people put their stuff until that Hyoutei guy left and didn't come back. He hadn't really paid attention to that since he'd been tired and eager to sleep so he could wake up and see his team in the morning. He'd gone right to sleep, too. Only he'd felt something, like someone really small was creeping around beside his bed. And when he'd turned to see what it was, it disappeared. There was no way he could sleep after that. Every time he started to doze off it would come back. It smelled bad, too, like dirty socks or a locker room after a rough practice.

Eventually he gave up and went downstairs. That was when he ran into her and found out how petty her roommates were.

She was sitting by the fire with her upside down book inches from her nose. And she was really quick to tell him what those things in his room were. Flitterbons. Very sneaky creatures that snuck around bedrooms at night looking for dirty socks to eat. Shinji might have thought she was making it up, but her expression was so serious, and she was the only one at their table who'd known about the carriage monsters. All the others had looked at them funny when he and Yukimura said they'd seen the horse-like things. She'd known all about them - thestrals, things only people who'd seen someone die could see. If she knew about that, it was probably normal for her to know about the flitterbons, too.

She warned him not to tell anyone that he'd seen a flitterbon in his room because they wouldn't believe him and he'd get used to it eventually, anyway. Everyone else just passed the sneaky creatures off as House Elves picking up after them when they were all sleeping at night. Those were the magical creatures that cooked food for them in the kitchen beneath the dining hall. No one ever saw them, either, so everyone figured anything that moved around when they weren't looking had to be one of them. Some of them smelled funny too, since they all wore cast-off rags instead of normal clothing, so it was easy to mix them up with flitterbons. But Shinji had definitely seen the little thing - or things - flickering around in the shadow, so it was definitely a flitterbon.

Shinji decided then that she was interesting. That lying hat had claimed this House was for smart people, so he guessed it was only natural that she knew so much. But he liked the way she told him about it. She made the shadowy things sound interesting, special, and not so creepy and alarming. He'd been quite unnerved to have some unknown thing sneaking around when it thought he wasn't looking. He was already uneasy. That flitterbon thing had just made it even worse.

They'd talked a little more after that, and he'd learned that she didn't go to bed until she was sure her roommates were sleeping. They liked to hex her things, like her blankets, especially if she were already asleep under them. He'd met two of her roommates at dinner earlier, but they'd been busy watching him and Yukimura and giggling to each other, so he hadn't paid much attention to them. He'd learned a year ago not to look at giggling girls. That was just asking for trouble. And they were already trouble. Petty.

When he asked why she didn't tell someone, like the older students, or those Headkids, or the Prefect ones or something, she'd said she already had. Everyone knew. But she was weird and a second year and they needed a scapegoat because Ravenclaws never did anything wrong to people outside their own House. They had a reputation to uphold, after all. And it wasn't really that big of a deal. It was too much trouble to make a fuss about it when no one else cared, and she always got her stuff back eventually. She was good with counterspells, too, so they didn't know any hexes she couldn't get rid of. She liked reading before bed, anyway.

Shinji thought she made it sound like everyone in the House was petty. Maybe they were. The boy who'd shown them to their rooms earlier had seemed nice enough, but he was almost too perfect. All bright smiles, good looks, and the doting gaze of just about everyone he passed in the common room. He didn't remember the boy's name, Day-something, but that Asian girl said he was the captain of their flying quid team, like they should be honored he was showing them to their rooms. Shinji hadn't been honored, or impressed, either. At most he'd been amused at the way the guy had stumbled when he talked to Fuji Syusuke.

Luna smiled when she heard that and explained that they'd thought Fuji was a girl at first. Davies, that was the boy's name. His only known flaw was that he got a little clumsy around pretty girls. It seemed that extended to pretty boys, too. He wasn't as perfect as he seemed, either. She had it on good authority that he was horrible at potions and had to be tutored regularly. And his charms were substandard at best. But then she was criticizing her upperclassmen and she didn't want to get into that habit. She lent Shinji her magazine and went off to bed.

Shinji read for the rest of the night. Upside down. Because half the pictures had instructions for turning the page in weird directions in order to see hidden things. He couldn't find the things that were supposed to be hidden, but it was interesting to try. Definitely eccentric. If his parents had made a magazine, he'd want it to be something as strange as this. There was even an article on the flitterbons. They weren't dangerous, and if a person stopped trying to see them, they'd nab the socks they were after and go away. Shinji had been going about it all wrong. It figured.

He ended up dozing for a little while until something added some wood to the fireplace he was sitting by. He didn't know if it were a House Elf or a flitterbon, but it woke him up all the same. Since the sun was rising he decided to head outside early and wait for his team to show.

He'd just stepped out the main doors when he was drawn to the sound of voices near the lake. That pushy guy Echizen hung around with was waving a black teeshirt at two identical redhaired boys. Shinji wandered over to them.

"I'm telling you it had to have fallen around here somewhere," Momo was saying. "No one but Eiji-senpai would wear this shirt. It's gotta be his."

"Something might have eaten it," said Fred, "or it might have ran away. But if that's the case it can't be Ron's because-"

"-Scabbers is way too old to have survived that fall," finished George. "Pity for you, though. With no evidence you'll have a mess of a time explaining that window."

"First day here, too," Fred winced. "If you were aiming to get detention there are much more worthwhile pranks to pull than tossing a roomie through the window. Physical violence is so mundane. At least put a little creativity into it."

George gave a sober nod and eyed Momo sadly. "We aren't the sort to tattle on you, but that cut was a bad move. Now everyone's gonna know about it. Next time you're looking to get back at someone, drop by our room and we'll hook you up."

"For a price, of course," said Fred. "Muggle money's good with us, easy as a trip to Gringots to exchange and all, but favors or a cut of the fun would work, too. We're always open to negotiations for a good cause. And you look like a right good cause."

"You spin a tale so well you had us down here looking for a body," George smirked. "Even got the shirt to prove you threw something or other and your roomies backing you up to top it off. We can definitely do business with a fellow like you. No waiting, either, seeing as how you won't be around too long. Just-"

"Well, now," Fred frowned, straightening and looking behind him. "Eavesdropping, eh?"

"Not very polite," said George.

"At all," Fred nodded.

Momo blinked and glanced over to see who they were talking to. He was a little slow to react after having almost been...conned? He wasn't sure what the twins were offering, or why they thought he'd made up a story about the rat. Their entire demeanor made him think they were trying to sell him drugs or something. He was almost relieved to be interrupted. Almost. He still had Tezuka to face once Echizen told him what was going on.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," said Shinji. "You were talking too loud."

Momo sighed in relief that it wasn't his captain. Then he winced because it was Shinji instead. He seriously didn't know how to deal with the guy without Echizen or Kamio around. In fact, anything he said right now might end up setting Kamio off on him again. Through no fault of his own, of course. Fudomine was such a weird team.

George sent a curious look at his brother. "Were we?"

"We might have been," Fred admitted. "We did think we were alone."

"That we did," sighed George. "In that case..."

Fred stepped over and clapped Shinji's shoulder. He flashed a wide smile and didn't even blink when the boy leaned away from him. "Fred and George Weasley-"

"-at your service," George finished. "You were put in Ravenclaw, weren't you?"

"Quite a House you have there," said Fred. "Not a customer among them."

"Till exam time rolls around," George smirked. "Then we get them in droves. Always up for a quick-smart pop, that lot."

"And professors say hard work and effort are important these days."

"Not bloody likely."

Shinji took a long step back and frowned from one boy to the other. Then he frowned at Momoshiro. His eyes dropped to the teeshirt he was holding.

"I like that band," Shinji commented.

"Really?" asked Momo. "I met them once. Eiji-senpai won some contest and they came over to his house. The plans got messed up, but it was still cool. This is his."

"It's signed," said Shinji. "You shouldn't wad it up like that. It's all dirty, too. A souvenir like that is expensive. You should take better care of it."

"It's not my fault!" Momo blurted. "There was this...er...yeah. Yeah, shouldn't wad it up. Right. I'll just be getting this back to Eiji-senpai."

Momo turned to get away before he said too much. The last thing he wanted was for rumors about this to get out to the other teams. It probably would, anyway, at least to Rikkaidai and Hyoutei. That was more than enough people. He took two steps before he realized his way was blocked by the twins, both of whom had their arms folded over their chests and bemused frowns on their faces.

"I think we've been ignored," said Fred.

"I believe you're right," said George. "That's quite rude."

"Quite. We may have to rescind our offer."

"That would certainly be a shame."

"Indeed it would."

Momo blinked. "No offense. It's just, you know, my captain is probably waiting and I don't really want to be running laps around this castle for the rest of the day. I don't know how bad your detentions here are, but if I get in enough trouble there's this guy on my team who makes these drinks - poison, absolute poison - and compared to that-"

"Momoshiro?"

Momo cringed and flashed a painful look past the boys. Sure enough, Tezuka was crossing the yard with a very serious look on his face. And right behind him was Tachibana. Perfect. He should have known this would get out to all the teams. Tachibana had probably been in the room when Echizen explained what happened. He'd completely forgotten about that.

"His captain," Fred said to George, in a stage whisper. "That's not good."

"Not good at all," George returned in the same too-loud whisper. "We should go now."

"I concur," Fred nodded.

Tezuka raised an eyebrow and turned to watch the boys leave. He'd never seen a more suspicious pair. That was it. He didn't want Momoshiro anywhere near them from now on. Or anyone else on his team, for that matter.

Tachibana went over to where Shinji was standing. He was more surprised to see him than he was to _not_ see a dead battered rat on the ground. He had enough trouble with live rats. He'd had to still himself for what he would likely see out here. He hadn't thought to still himself for dealing with Shinji.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Tachibana.

"I couldn't sleep because a Flitterbon kept trying to steal our dirty socks," Shinji shrugged. "Is Kamio awake?"

"Um..."

"I'm hungry, too," said Shinji. "I hope the elves make breakfast soon. Kamio always eats before practice. We probably won't be in very good condition this morning. I can go a few days without sleep, but I get distracted more and Kamio can't get going at all without food. These people go to bed early and get up late. It's really lazy. Maybe they only do it on the weekend, though. That would make sense, I guess. It would give the elves some time off, too, which is only right."

"Right," Tachibana said slowly. He shook his head clear and placed a hand on Shinji's back, steering him toward the castle. "Right. Kamio should be up. There was quite a commotion this morning."

"Flitterbons?"

"Er...not that I know of..."

"That's good," said Shinji. "They're not dangerous, so you shouldn't make a commotion about them. They just want socks. People lose those all the time."

"Right..."

.-.

Within the first hour of being in the Hufflepuff chambers, Oishi came to the conclusion that the group had more rules than any cult he'd ever read about. They were just as fanatical about their rules, too. Because they were loyal. Everything was done for the sake of the group as a whole, so anyone who endangered that group was ostracized immediately. Ohtori had managed to blacklist every single one of them without even saying a word. The moment his teammate had sat down beside him, he'd proclaimed himself a traitor. The rest of them were guilty by association.

It wasn't entirely hopeless, though. The older students in the House had clustered together in their common room after dinner and had some sort of hushed meeting while they waited near the door. They chose a spokesman and apparently decided they were worthy of a chance at redeeming themselves. Oishi still didn't know how to take their behavior. It was too bizarre.

The fifth year captain of the Quiddich team, a tall boy with gray eyes named Diggory, finally showed them to their rooms. First he explained what they'd done wrong, and how they were supposed to act as temporary Hufflepuffs. His manner was kind and polite, and he didn't seem to notice that what he was saying came off cultish and bizarre to them.

Hufflepuffs never invited trouble. Trouble followed them by default, so it was suicide to intentionally invite more upon them. They traveled in pairs at all times. They absolutely never drew their wands first in a confrontation, even if it meant being hexed without a chance to retaliate. They didn't retaliate or seek revenge either. That was petty and pointless. If one of them was being particularly targeted, the others took turns walking him or her to class until the attention shifted to someone else. And they absolutely never, ever, spoke to Slytherins. Unless it was an order from a professor during a combined class they avoided them at all costs.

The upperclassmen understood that an exception would be necessary in their case, since some of them had teammates who'd been sorted into the Slytherin House. They would have to interact with them during practices and matches. Outside of that, they were to carry themselves as Hufflepuffs. They took care of each other and did nothing that would endanger the younger members of their House.

They'd sat together for a while after the boy left them. Ohtori and Dan took it the hardest, while Yuuta was clearly furious. Oishi was more stunned than anything. There was clearly a longterm strife between the two Houses, but Diggory hadn't said a word about what the Slytherins had done to make their entire House avoid them at all costs. Yuuta flat out refused to go along with their ridiculous rules. So the entire House hated them. What was the worst they could do to them?

What, indeed. Oishi didn't know, but he was sure it would be something bad. They performed magic. They would be united against them. The hat had said he was being placed here because this was the House that specialized in loyalty. If they were all so loyal to each other, what wouldn't they do to outsiders? Outsiders that interacted with the enemy and somehow - why were they enemies? - endangered them all merely by being friends with a member of the wrong House.

They were just getting ready to split up for their two rooms when a girl slipped in the door. She had long hair in a plait down her back and sharp eyes. She winced when they all turned to stare at her. She sent a quick peak out the door and then shut it behind her and introduced herself as Susan. One of her friends was muggle born - meaning his parents were as dumb to magic as all of them - and since the guys were watching each other, he wouldn't be able to sneak up himself. So she'd offered to do it for him. She spent the next hour explaining why there were so many paranoid rules in the House, and why all of them eventually learned that the rules were for their own good. Slytherins, it turned out, were evil.

Oishi couldn't believe half the stories the girl told them. It didn't seem possible that a homicidal dark wizard with a legion of fanatical followers could have waged a war in England, killing at will and torturing 'muggles' at random - and no non-wizard had any idea anything had even happened. And all of them, with one minor exception, had come from the Slytherin House.

They were raised in that House to hate everyone who wasn't evil like themselves. And they were trained to be good at torturing innocents by targeting Hufflepuffs during their seven years at Hogwarts. Everyone knew about this. That was the way the Houses were set up. The Hufflepuffs were the victims for the Slytherins to play with so that the other two Houses would be able to leave the school smart and courageous enough to be proper Aurors to fight the future Slytherin line of evil dark wizards. The Slytherins did sometimes attack Gryffindors and the occasional Ravenclaw, but the Hufflepuffs always took the brunt of it. So they had to be loyal and on constant guard or none of them would make it.

Oishi wasn't the only one who couldn't believe it. Yuuta told her she was crazy, which for some reason made her smirk at him. Kabaji actually glared and told her to get out. Ohtori had to put a hand on the tall teen's shoulder to keep him from stepping forward and making her leave. He clearly took offense to the idea that his captain and two of his teammates were being lumped in with some fanatical House of murderers and psychotics. And Saeki started laughing and didn't stop until he was choking and gasping for breath.

The girl just smiled, shrugged, and welcomed them to the Hufflepuff House with a proud statement that Hufflepuffs were not as gullible or weak as the other Houses assumed them to be. She left them with a warning that everything she'd said was believed by at least some members of their House, and that if they were going to insist on being friendly with their teammates in Slytherin, they should at least take precautions that they didn't do anything that might endanger the rest of them after they left. If they wanted to eat lunch together, they could sit at the Slytherin table. And if they even thought about bringing one of them into their chambers, they'd be hexed so their own mothers wouldn't recognize them. Then she winked and closed the door behind her.

Needless to say, Oishi didn't sleep very well that night. Was it a joke? A test? Were they serious? Exaggerations of the truth, surely. A deep resentment between the two groups, some history of strife carried down over the years. And some hazing ritual for new members, which now included them. Surely they weren't serious. It had to be a test. They'd all seemed so nice and friendly when he first sat at the table. If they were serious...he'd have to talk to the others about rearranging their sleeping assignments. Ohtori and Kabaji could take care of themselves, and Yuuta...well, Oishi had seen what happened to those who hurt Fuji's brother, so he was covered as well. Dan, on the other hand... Oishi would have to keep an eye on him. Because there was a chance they _were_ serious and that was just...scary.

He woke from strange, restless dreams, to find a young curly-haired boy standing beside his bed. He vaguely remembered the boy being the one with two last names that both sounded similar and were hard to pronounce together. He thought his first name was Justin. The kid jerked his head toward the door when he saw Oishi blinking up at him.

"You guys better get downstairs before all hell breaks loose," said Justin. "The Fat Friar's gone and let a Gryffindor into our common room. Said the kid was crying and pathetic so he just had to show him in. Why he couldn't get you guys to go out and meet him in the hall, I don't know. But the prefects catch him down there and you're all getting blamed. Hop to it, already. I'll think of some excuse to get the password changed, but you have to get him out of here right now."

Yuuta scrubbed his eyes and blinked blearily at the boy, like he might disappear if he looked again. Jackal sighed and shoved his shoes on, stumbling his way for the door. Kabaji was already moving and looked like he'd been awake before the boy even entered their room. Oishi followed after, detouring just long enough to wake the guys in the second room. He didn't bother to ask Justin who was downstairs. If the wizarding students were united against them, they'd have to be united as well.

By the time Oishi got the others downstairs, only Justin was sitting in the common room. The boy flashed a look at them and gave a vague smile.

"Made it in time," said Justin. "They're out in the hall. I swear, you guys are trouble. Even got the Friar breaking the rules for you. You're just lucky I was sneaking down to the kitchens for a snack or that kid would have been hexed all the way back to Gryffindor tower. We get along fine with them, but they still ain't allowed in here. Hufflepuffs only, got it?"

"Got it," Oishi said with a stiff nod. He turned for the door only to be stopped again.

"The kid's a mess," Justin warned. "When you're done talking to him, head up the right stairs, take two lefts, and talk to the portrait with the guy on the horse. He'll show you over to the infirmary. Make sure it's the guy on the horse, though. The drunk guy with the hat'll lead you all over the place and you'll never get there."

Oishi blinked in surprise. "Thank you."

"Sure," said Justin. "Caught me on a good day is all."

Despite the warning, Oishi switched to worry mode so quickly his heart skipped a beat. The others were huddled around Jiroh, who looked like he'd just woken up and been through hell between bed and their door. He was mussed, pale, tearstreaked, and...bloody. A cut was dripping down his cheek and more had soaked through the shoulder of his shirt to trail down his arm. Ohtori had an arm behind him and appeared to be trying to make him move away from the wall.

"What happened?" asked Oishi.

"It was my fault," Jiroh sniffled, wilting a little more.

"An accident," Ohtori said firmly. "Some sort of in trouble their room and he and Marui fell into a window."

"I fell," said Jiroh, "he got _pushed_. But I didn't mean to." He seemed to energize suddenly and turned wide eyes on Jackal. "I didn't know who it _was_. There was screaming and I fell out of the bed and when I got up someone bumped into me and I didn't know who it was. I panicked and shoved him and then I stumbled, too, and we fell into the window and it broke and cut up his arm. There was so much blood they took him to the infirmary and I had to tell you because you're his partner and I'm so sorry! I know it was my fault, but it was an accident, too. I would _never_...I wouldn't..."

"I know," Jackal said quickly. "We should get you to the infirmary, too."

Jiroh dropped his head and sniffed again. "I'm sorry...I don't know where it is..."

"I do," said Oishi. "At least, I know how to find it."

"I'll wait," mumbled Jiroh.

Ohtori winced at that. "You can't avoid him the entire month, Jiroh. You're in the same House."

"I can switch rooms..."

"Do that and he'll do the same thing," sighed Jackal. "From the sound of it there was a lot going on before you even woke up. There's no way Marui would blame you. Besides, you're like his biggest fan."

Jiroh flinched and ducked his chin tighter to his chest. He looked like he was about to start sobbing.

Jackal grimaced and waved his hands at the boy. "I didn't mean that in a _bad_ way!"

"Come on," said Ohtori. He forced Jiroh away from the wall. "If you'd lead the way, Oishi-san?"

Jiroh squirmed out of his grip. "I wanna wait..."

Kabaji sighed and bent over to pick Jiroh up with an arm around his waist. He slung him over his shoulder and gave a sharp nod to Ohtori. He didn't seem to mind that Jiroh was getting blood on the back of his shirt, or that he was kicking the crap out of his stomach.

"Not fair, Kabaji," Jiroh pouted.

The only response he received was a warm pat on the small of his back. He wilted and let himself be carried down the hall. He'd gotten so lost trying to find the Hufflepuff rooms - who would have thought they were so close to the main doors? - that Marui was probably already out of the infirmary, anyway. And if he wasn't...well...he'd just keep his eyes closed. He'd barely thought it before he found himself dozing off. Kabaji had such a peaceful gait...all smooth and light. Like sleeping on a water bed...

_**.-.  
**__**TBC**_

_I **will** try to get some tennis and magic in the next part. I just don't want to skip through the House introductions too quickly. Only one chance for a first impression, you know? And an outsider's point of view is so fun to write. Please don't kill me for playing with the Hufflepuffs. There's nothing canon on them, not in the books or even the HP Lexicon site - I looked! Nothing for them, so I took it as a free for all. o.o;;_


End file.
